Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with MSFT, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what this whale just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 130 uncommon options trades for Microsoft.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 36% bullish and 63%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 70 are puts, for a total amount of $6,464,410, and 60 are calls, for a total amount of $5,033,243.
What's The Price Target?
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $170.0 to $450.0 for Microsoft over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Microsoft options trades today is 3656.31 with a total volume of 192,656.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Microsoft's big money trades within a strike price range of $170.0 to $450.0 over the last 30 days.
Microsoft Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | PUT | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 01/19/24 | $175.00 | $534.5K | 1.4K | 737 |
| MSFT | CALL | TRADE | NEUTRAL | 11/18/22 | $230.00 | $310.6K | 5.0K | 486 |
| MSFT | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 11/18/22 | $230.00 | $308.7K | 5.0K | 296 |
| MSFT | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $210.00 | $282.2K | 1.3K | 79 |
| MSFT | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/19/24 | $280.00 | $243.4K | 3.1K | 193 |
Where Is Microsoft Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 17,797,354, the price of MSFT is up 0.47% at $238.66.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 7 days.
What The Experts Say On Microsoft:
- Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Microsoft, which currently sits at a price target of $315.
- Mizuho has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Microsoft, which currently sits at a price target of $320.
- Oppenheimer has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Microsoft, which currently sits at a price target of $275.
- MoffettNathanson downgraded its action to Hold with a price target of $285
- Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Microsoft, which currently sits at a price target of $310.
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.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Microsoft, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
