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 18 uncommon options trades for Microsoft ( MSFT ).

This isn't normal.

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

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 7 are puts, for a total amount of $332,559, and 11 are calls, for a total amount of $750,975.

Expected Price Movements

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $400.0 to $565.0 for Microsoft ( MSFT ) over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

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 ( MSFT ) 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 ( MSFT ) whale activity within a strike price range from $400.0 to $565.0 in the last 30 days.

Microsoft Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

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).

Microsoft's Current Market Status

Currently trading with a volume of 1,421,798, the MSFT's price is up by 0.72%, now at $501.81.

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

Anticipated earnings release is in 50 days.

Expert Opinions on Microsoft

A total of 2 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $650.0.

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.

* An analyst from Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ), which currently sits at a price target of $675.

* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Barclays keeps a Overweight rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ) with a target price of $625.

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.