Significant Options Activity on Wednesday: CRK, AA, UNH
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Nov 26 2025
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
Alcoa Corporation Options Activity: Alcoa Corporation (AA) has seen a significant options volume of 57,161 contracts today, equating to about 5.7 million underlying shares, which is 97.3% of its average daily trading volume over the past month.
High Volume Put Option: The $37.50 strike put option for Alcoa, expiring on December 5, 2025, has particularly high activity with 18,719 contracts traded, representing approximately 1.9 million underlying shares.
UnitedHealth Group Options Activity: UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) has recorded an options volume of 79,689 contracts today, representing around 8.0 million underlying shares, or 88.9% of its average daily trading volume over the past month.
High Volume Call Option: The $330 strike call option for UnitedHealth, expiring on November 28, 2025, has seen notable trading with 4,588 contracts exchanged, corresponding to about 458,800 underlying shares.
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Analyst Views on UNH
Wall Street analysts forecast UNH stock price to rise
19 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 285.170
Low
330.00
Averages
397.82
High
444.00
Current: 285.170
Low
330.00
Averages
397.82
High
444.00
About UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a healthcare and well-being company. Its segments include Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Rx, and UnitedHealthcare, which includes UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement and UnitedHealthcare Community & State. Optum Health offers comprehensive and patient-centered care, addressing the physical, mental, social, and financial well-being. Optum Health delivers primary, specialty and surgical care; helps patients and providers navigate and address complex, chronic and behavioral health needs. Optum Insight connects the healthcare system with services, analytics and platforms that make clinical, administrative and financial processes simpler and more efficient for all participants in the healthcare system. Optum Rx offers a range of pharmacy care services through retail pharmacies, through home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacies and the provision of in-home and community-based infusion services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Business Update Impact: A recent business update from Centene has heightened investor anxiety regarding the company's future prospects.
- Market Context: The struggles of Centene are indicative of broader issues within the health insurance sector amid evolving regulations.
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- Technical Analysis Tool: Comparing the current share price to the 200-day moving average provides investors with valuable insights for technical analysis, aiding in market trend assessment and timing of investments.
- ETF Trading Mechanism: ETFs trade like stocks, where investors buy and sell 'units' that can be created or destroyed based on demand, impacting liquidity and market performance.
- Inflows and Outflows Monitoring: Weekly monitoring of changes in shares outstanding helps identify ETFs experiencing significant inflows or outflows, allowing investors to capitalize on market dynamics and opportunities.
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- Premium Hike Impact: The investigation found that the average Medicare premium for American seniors rose by approximately 10%, equating to over $200 annually, directly affecting beneficiaries of both Medicare Advantage and standard Medicare, indicating a pressing need for policy adjustments.
- Insurer Rebuttal: America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), representing health insurers, denied the investigation's findings, claiming they were based on “fundamentally flawed data and methodology,” illustrating the industry's strong opposition to policy changes and potential conflicts of interest.
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- Weak Job Market: The U.S. nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly fell by 92,000 in February, significantly below the forecast of 50,000 and down from the revised January total of 126,000, indicating ongoing economic pressure from severe winter weather and a strike in the healthcare sector.
- Rising Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, reflecting job losses across key sectors, although a broader measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and part-time workers for economic reasons, decreased to 7.9%, suggesting some resilience in the labor market.
- Wage Growth Exceeds Expectations: Despite the weak job data, average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% for the month and 3.8% year-over-year, both exceeding forecasts by 0.1 percentage points, indicating persistent labor cost pressures that could influence future monetary policy decisions.
- Significant Industry Impact: The healthcare sector lost 28,000 jobs due to the Kaiser Permanente strike, while information services and manufacturing saw declines of 11,000 and 12,000 jobs respectively, highlighting structural challenges within industries that may lead policymakers to adopt a more cautious approach in response to economic slowdown.
See More
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- Job Growth Expectations: February's nonfarm payrolls are projected to increase by approximately 60,000, down from 130,000 in January, indicating moderate growth in the labor market, though it fails to inspire strong economic confidence.
- Unemployment Rate Increase: The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 4.4% from 4.3% last month, reflecting signs of weakening consumer spending that could negatively impact economic growth.
- Weakening Consumer Spending: Real personal consumption expenditures have slowed to a year-over-year growth rate of 1.7%, about half of the long-term average, indicating a decline in consumer confidence that may affect future economic activity.
- Industry Dynamics Observation: While job growth in healthcare and social services continues, layoffs in the tech sector raise concerns, particularly regarding job shifts related to artificial intelligence, which may impact the overall structure of the labor market.
See More
