What the Options Market Tells Us About Microsoft

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Microsoft MSFT.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions 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.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 10 options trades for Microsoft.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 20% bullish and 50%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $88,560, and 9, calls, for a total amount of $361,089.

Projected Price Targets

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $200.0 to $460.0 for Microsoft during the past quarter.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

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 $200.0 to $460.0 in the last 30 days.

Microsoft 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Significant Options Trades Detected:

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).

Present Market Standing of Microsoft

• Currently trading with a volume of 1,314,164, the MSFT's price is up by 0.12%, now at $453.41.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 25 days.

What The Experts Say On Microsoft

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $548.0.

• Reflecting concerns, an analyst from New Street Research lowers its rating to Buy with a new price target of $570.
• An analyst from Tigress Financial persists with their Buy rating on Microsoft, maintaining a target price of $550.
• An analyst from Oppenheimer persists with their Outperform rating on Microsoft, maintaining a target price of $500.
• An analyst from Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Microsoft, which currently sits at a price target of $600.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Citigroup keeps a Buy rating on Microsoft with a target price of $520.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Microsoft with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.