Medical device manufacturer Medtronic (MDT) is down 6% over the past year. One trader is betting that shares will continue to decline over the next 18 months.
That’s based on the January 2026 $85 puts. With 569 days until expiration, 9,101 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 167, for a 55-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the puts paid $9.36 to make the bearish bet.
Medtronic shares recently traded for about $81, meaning the option is about $4.00 in-the-money. Shares are about midway between their 52-week low and high of $68.84 and $91.00.
While shares look somewhat rangebound right now, over the longer term they look more bearish, especially with stocks near all-time highs. Earnings have declined by 45% in the past year, and revenues have been flat.
Action to take: Medtronic trades for 11 times forward earnings and could be a long-term buy once it breaks out of its current downtrend. Shares also pay a 3.4% dividend.
For traders, the January 2026 $85 puts suggest that shares will languish for some time and then possible decline in the next 18 months.
More aggressive traders may want to use a shorter-dated option trade to play the current downtrend first before paying for a higher-priced option that has longer to play out. That could provide multiple profit opportunities on shares in the coming months.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.