Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Carnival (NYSE:CCL).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with CCL, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 37 uncommon options trades for Carnival.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 67% bullish and 21%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 31 are puts, for a total amount of $4,092,686, and 6 are calls, for a total amount of $755,853.
Predicted Price Range
After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $20.0 and $50.0 for Carnival, spanning the last three months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.
This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Carnival's options for a given strike price.
Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Carnival's whale activity within a strike price range from $20.0 to $50.0 in the last 30 days.
Carnival 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCL | PUT | TRADE | NEUTRAL | 09/18/26 | $3.8 | $3.35 | $3.6 | $24.00 | $576.0K | 190 | 1.6K |
| CCL | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 04/17/26 | $1.75 | $1.75 | $1.75 | $26.00 | $525.0K | 1.0K | 3.0K |
| CCL | PUT | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 03/20/26 | $3.85 | $3.5 | $3.68 | $28.00 | $276.0K | 8.7K | 793 |
| CCL | PUT | TRADE | BULLISH | 03/20/26 | $27.3 | $24.95 | $25.56 | $50.00 | $255.6K | 0 | 300 |
| CCL | PUT | TRADE | BULLISH | 03/20/26 | $27.3 | $24.9 | $25.53 | $50.00 | $255.3K | 0 | 100 |
About Carnival
Carnival is the largest global cruise company, with more than 90 ships in service. Its portfolio of brands includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn in North America; P&O Cruises and Cunard Line in the United Kingdom; Aida in Germany; Costa Cruises in Southern Europe. It recently folded its P&O Australia brand into Carnival. The firm also owns Holland America Princess Alaska Tours in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Carnival's brands attracted nearly 14 million guests in 2025.
Carnival's Current Market Status
- Trading volume stands at 22,194,924, with CCL's price down by -4.46%, positioned at $24.64.
- RSI indicators show the stock to be may be oversold.
- Earnings announcement expected in 11 days.
Expert Opinions on Carnival
1 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $40.0.
- An analyst from Wells Fargo persists with their Overweight rating on Carnival, maintaining a target price of $40.
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
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