A Closer Look at Estee Lauder Cos's Options Market Dynamics

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bullish approach towards Estee Lauder Cos (NYSE:EL), and it’s something market players shouldn’t ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in EL usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga’s options scanner highlighted 21 extraordinary options activities for Estee Lauder Cos. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 42% leaning bullish and 38% bearish. Among these notable options, 16 are puts, totaling $914,765, and 5 are calls, amounting to $227,685.

Expected Price Movements

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $55.0 to $120.0 for Estee Lauder Cos during the past quarter.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In today’s trading context, the average open interest for options of Estee Lauder Cos stands at 254.57, with a total volume reaching 1,636.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Estee Lauder Cos, situated within the strike price corridor from $55.0 to $120.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Estee Lauder Cos Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

Symbol	PUT/CALL	Trade Type	Sentiment	Exp. Date	Ask	Bid	Price	Strike Price	Total Trade Price	Open Interest	Volume
EL	PUT	SWEEP	BULLISH	01/21/28	$20.1	$17.95	$17.95	$105.00	$210.0K	2	248
EL	CALL	SWEEP	BEARISH	03/20/26	$60.65	$59.75	$59.75	$55.00	$119.5K	490	20
EL	PUT	SWEEP	BULLISH	01/21/28	$20.1	$17.95	$17.95	$105.00	$93.3K	2	131
EL	PUT	TRADE	BEARISH	02/20/26	$7.2	$6.7	$7.2	$115.00	$57.6K	419	4
EL	PUT	TRADE	BULLISH	01/21/28	$22.7	$19.65	$20.85	$110.00	$52.1K	5	25

About Estee Lauder Cos

Estée Lauder is a leader in the global prestige beauty market, participating across skin care (49% of fiscal 2025 sales), makeup (29%), fragrance (17%), and hair care and others (5%). Top selling brands include Estée Lauder, Clinique, M.A.C, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, and Origins. The firm operates in more than 150 countries, generating 31% of revenue from the Americas, 37% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (including travel retail), and 32% from Asia-Pacific. Estée Lauder sells its products through department stores, travel retail, specialty multibrand beauty stores, brand-dedicated freestanding stores, e-commerce, salons/spas, and perfumeries.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Estee Lauder Cos, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Where Is Estee Lauder Cos Standing Right Now?

• Currently trading with a volume of 2,373,040, the EL’s price is down by -1.03%, now at $112.3.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 16 days.

Expert Opinions on Estee Lauder Cos

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $120.4.

• An analyst from Wells Fargo persists with their Equal-Weight rating on Estee Lauder Cos, maintaining a target price of $111.
• An analyst from Jefferies downgraded its action to Hold with a price target of $110.
• An analyst from Raymond James upgraded its action to Strong Buy with a price target of $130.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from JP Morgan continues to hold a Overweight rating for Estee Lauder Cos, targeting a price of $131.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Citigroup continues to hold a Neutral rating for Estee Lauder Cos, targeting a price of $120.

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.