Spotlight on Microsoft: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

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 MSFT, 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 15 uncommon options trades for Microsoft.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 60% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $74,745, and 13 are calls, for a total amount of $644,140.

What's The Price Target?

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $395.0 to $465.0 for Microsoft over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Microsoft'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 Microsoft's whale trades within a strike price range from $395.0 to $465.0 in the last 30 days.

Microsoft Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume
MSFT CALL SWEEP BEARISH 12/27/24 $5.5 $5.4 $5.4 $450.00 $162.0K 13.5K 819
MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/06/24 $4.95 $4.7 $5.0 $440.00 $98.9K 6.0K 1.0K
MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/27/24 $9.95 $9.65 $9.95 $440.00 $62.6K 7.0K 4
MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/13/24 $2.94 $2.91 $2.94 $450.00 $59.9K 8.4K 3.2K
MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/06/24 $1.46 $1.41 $1.45 $445.00 $56.8K 12.2K 10.2K

About Microsoft

Microsoft develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. It is known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity suite. The company is organized into three equally sized broad segments: productivity and business processes (legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, Dynamics), intelligence cloud (infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings Azure, Windows Server OS, SQL Server), and more personal computing (Windows Client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface laptops, tablets, and desktops).

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Microsoft, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Present Market Standing of Microsoft With a trading volume of 1,961,912, the price of MSFT is up by 0.49%, reaching $444.81. Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought. Next earnings report is scheduled for 53 days from now.

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Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Microsoft options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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