Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Morgan Stanley MS.
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 MS, 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 22 uncommon options trades for Morgan Stanley.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 9% bullish and 72%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 8 are puts, for a total amount of $360,271, and 14 are calls, for a total amount of $4,261,557.
Projected Price Targets
Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $85.0 to $105.0 for Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley'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 Morgan Stanley's whale trades within a strike price range from $85.0 to $105.0 in the last 30 days.
Morgan Stanley Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days
Significant Options Trades Detected:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 01/17/25 | $5.25 | $5.15 | $5.16 | $105.00 | $1.9M | 5.8K | 3.7K |
| MS | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 07/19/24 | $2.58 | $2.55 | $2.54 | $100.00 | $1.1M | 10.7K | 5.0K |
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 09/20/24 | $12.25 | $12.05 | $12.25 | $87.50 | $597.9K | 3.0K | 490 |
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 09/20/24 | $2.2 | $2.16 | $2.16 | $105.00 | $106.9K | 1.8K | 1.3K |
| MS | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 07/19/24 | $0.8 | $0.8 | $0.8 | $90.00 | $92.0K | 4.6K | 618 |
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments. The company had over $4 trillion of client assets as well as over 80,000 employees at the end of 2022. Approximately 50% of the company's net revenue is from its institutional securities business, with the remainder coming from wealth and investment management. The company derives about 30% of its total revenue outside the Americas.
Having examined the options trading patterns of Morgan Stanley, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance
Present Market Standing of Morgan Stanley
- Currently trading with a volume of 2,273,611, the MS's price is down by -1.47%, now at $97.22.
- RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.
- Anticipated earnings release is in 48 days.
What The Experts Say On Morgan Stanley
A total of 1 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $105.0.
- Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Oppenheimer continues to hold a Outperform rating for Morgan Stanley, targeting a price of $105.
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 Morgan Stanley, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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