Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Microsoft ( 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 19 uncommon options trades for Microsoft ( MSFT ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 42% bullish and 36%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $153,097, and 15 are calls, for a total amount of $1,046,025.

What's The Price Target?

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $380.0 and $520.0 for Microsoft ( MSFT ), spanning the last three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Microsoft's ( MSFT ) options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Microsoft's ( MSFT ) significant trades, within a strike price range of $380.0 to $520.0, over the past month.

Microsoft Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Microsoft

Microsoft ( MSFT ) 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 ( MSFT ), 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).

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Microsoft ( MSFT ), we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Current Position of Microsoft

Currently trading with a volume of 1,549,696, the MSFT's price is up by 0.42%, now at $418.29.

RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.

Anticipated earnings release is in 18 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Microsoft

A total of 3 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $485.3333333333333.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access.

* Reflecting concerns, an analyst from DA Davidson lowers its rating to Neutral with a new price target of $475.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Morgan Stanley continues to hold a Overweight rating for Microsoft ( MSFT ), targeting a price of $506.

* An analyst from DA Davidson persists with their Neutral rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ), maintaining a target price of $475.

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 ( MSFT ), Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.