Okay, so there are some really big and rich people who think that a company called Occidental Petroleum will go up or down in value. They made some special bets using options, which are like contracts that let you buy or sell something at a certain price later. These big bets can tell us what they think about the future of the company. Right now, it seems they expect the company to be worth between $50 and $90 per share in the next few months. We don't know for sure if they are right or not, but we can keep an eye on how the company does and see if these rich people were smart or lucky. Read from source...
1. The title of the article is misleading and sensationalist, as it implies that there are only "whales" who are betting on Occidental Petroleum, while in reality, any investor can have a bullish or bearish stance on the stock. The term "whale" is also vague and subjective, as it does not specify what kind of whale (in terms of financial size) or what kind of betting behavior they are engaging in.
2. The article relies heavily on options history data from Benzinga's options scanner, which may not be accurate, complete, or representative of the whole market activity. Options history is not a reliable indicator of future performance, as it only shows past trades that have been reported to the public exchanges, and does not account for private transactions, insider information, or other factors that may influence trading decisions.
3. The article claims that when something big happens with OXY, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen, but this is a weak argument based on circular reasoning and correlation fallacy. It does not provide any evidence or explanation of how the uncommon options trades are related to some inside information or upcoming events that would affect the stock price.
4. The article uses vague terms like "major market movers", "price band", and "liquidity" without defining them clearly or providing any context or sources for these measures. These terms may have different meanings or interpretations depending on who is using them, and they do not necessarily reflect the actual supply and demand dynamics of the stock options.
5. The article does not disclose any potential conflicts of interest or financial incentives that Benzinga may have to promote or hype up Occidental Petroleum as an investment opportunity. For example, Benzinga may receive compensation from advertisers, partners, or affiliates who are involved in the oil and gas industry, or who may benefit from increased trading activity and media attention around OXY.