 On Monday, shares of Carnival NYSE: CCL saw unusual options activity. After the option alert, the stock price moved up to 15.22. Sentiment: BULLISH Option Type: SWEEP Trade Type: PUT Expiration Date: 2020-08-21 Strike Price: 17.50 Volume: 842 Open Interest: 107573 Signs of Unusual Options Activity Exceptionally large volume is one way options activity can be considered unusual. The volume of options activity refers to the number of shares contracts traded for a day. Open interest describes unsettled contracts that have been traded but not closed by a counter-party. In other words, for each contract buyer, there must be a seller. A purchased contract remains open until a seller closes it, and vice versa.When a contract has an expiration date in the distant future, it is generally another sign of unusual activity. Usually, additional time until a contract expires allows more opportunity for it to reach its strike price and grow its time value. Time value is important to consider because it represents the difference between the strike price and the value of the underlying asset.Out of the money contracts are unusual because they are purchased with a strike price far from the underlying asset price. Out of the money occurs when the underlying price is under the strike price on a call option, or above the strike price on a put option. Buyers and sellers try to take advantage of a large profit margin in these instances because they are expecting the value of the underlying asset to change dramatically in the future.Bullish and Bearish Sentiments Options are bullish when a call is purchased atnear ask price or a put is sold atnear bid price. Options are bearish when a call is sold atnear bid price or a put is bought atnear ask price.These observations are made without knowing the investors true intent by purchasing these options contracts. The activity is suggestive of these strategies, but an observer cannot be sure if a bettor is playing the contract outright or if the options bettor is hedging a large underlying position in common stock. For the latter case, bullish options activity may be less meaningful than the exposure a large investor has on their short position in common stock.Using These Strategies to Trade Options Unusual options activity is an advantageous strategy that may greatly reward an investor if they are highly skilled, but for the less experienced trader, it should remain as another tool to make an educated investment decision while taking other observations into account.For more information to understand options alerts, visit more from Benzinga Morning Market Stats in 5 Minutes Understanding Carnivals Unusual Options Activity Morning Market Stats in 5 MinutesC 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. 