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 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 101 uncommon options trades for Microsoft ( MSFT ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 34% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 30 are puts, for a total amount of $1,574,994, and 71 are calls, for a total amount of $6,756,486.

Predicted Price Range

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $200.0 to $520.0 for Microsoft ( MSFT ) over the last 3 months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

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 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 trades within a strike price range from $200.0 to $520.0 in the last 30 days.

Microsoft Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

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).

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Microsoft ( MSFT ), we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Where Is Microsoft Standing Right Now?

Currently trading with a volume of 8,871,311, the MSFT's price is up by 2.34%, now at $387.64.

RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.

Anticipated earnings release is in 41 days.

What The Experts Say On Microsoft

Over the past month, 2 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $462.5.

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* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Stifel keeps a Buy rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ) with a target price of $475.

* An analyst from DA Davidson upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $450.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Microsoft ( MSFT ) options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.