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 13 uncommon options trades for Microsoft ( MSFT ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 23% bullish and 69%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $294,635, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $441,082.

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 $450.0 and $520.0 for Microsoft ( MSFT ), spanning the last three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Microsoft ( MSFT ) options trades today is 4024.45 with a total volume of 2,709.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Microsoft's ( MSFT ) big money trades within a strike price range of $450.0 to $520.0 over the last 30 days.

Microsoft Option Volume And Open Interest Over 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

With a trading volume of 2,165,239, the price of MSFT is up by 0.26%, reaching $493.31.

Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be overbought.

Next earnings report is scheduled for 27 days from now.

Expert Opinions on Microsoft

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $577.0.

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* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wedbush keeps a Outperform rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ) with a target price of $600.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Morgan Stanley continues to hold a Overweight rating for Microsoft ( MSFT ), targeting a price of $530.

* An analyst from Wells Fargo persists with their Overweight rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ), maintaining a target price of $565.

* An analyst from Citigroup persists with their Buy rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ), maintaining a target price of $605.

* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wells Fargo keeps a Overweight rating on Microsoft ( MSFT ) with a target price of $585.

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 ( MSFT ) with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.