Benzinga | Dec 31, 2021 01:18PM EST

Check Out What Whales Are Doing With MSFT

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bullish 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 61 uncommon options trades for Microsoft.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 55% bullish and 44%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 24 are puts, for a total amount of $1,232,075, and 37 are calls, for a total amount of $2,894,787.

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 $100.0 to $365.0 for Microsoft over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.

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 activity within a strike price range from $100.0 to $365.0 in the last 30 days.

Microsoft Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:



Symbol PUT/ Trade Sentiment Exp. Strike Total Trade Open Volume CALL Type Date Price Price InterestMSFT CALL SWEEP NEUTRAL 01/21/ $155.00 $273.1K 286 15 22MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 12/31/ $315.00 $225.0K 2.1K 554 21MSFT CALL SWEEP BEARISH 12/31/ $315.00 $220.2K 2.1K 856 21MSFT CALL TRADE BULLISH 01/21/ $270.00 $166.2K 9.3K 26 22MSFT CALL SWEEP BULLISH 04/14/ $355.00 $145.7K 1.4K 885 22

Where Is Microsoft Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 6,724,985, the price of MSFT is down -0.8% at $336.59.

* RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.

* Next earnings are expected to be released in 25 days.

What The Experts Say On Microsoft:

* SMBC Nikko downgraded its action to Outperform with a price target of $410

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 are already an options trader or would like to get started, head on over to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro gives you up-to-date news and analytics to empower your investing and trading strategy.