Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
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 MS, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 8 options trades for Morgan Stanley.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 62% bullish and 37%, bearish.
Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $25,200, and 7, calls, for a total amount of $324,592.
What's The Price Target?
Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $85.0 to $102.0 for Morgan Stanley over the recent three months.
Analyzing Volume & Open Interest
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Morgan Stanley options trades today is 3387.71 with a total volume of 106.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Morgan Stanley's big money trades within a strike price range of $85.0 to $102.0 over the last 30 days.
Morgan Stanley Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days
Significant Options Trades Detected:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 12/20/24 | $8.75 | $8.05 | $8.75 | $100.00 | $65.6K | 1.3K | 0 |
| MS | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 07/19/24 | $18.25 | $18.1 | $18.25 | $85.00 | $52.9K | 1.1K | 5 |
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 07/19/24 | $5.8 | $5.55 | $5.6 | $98.00 | $50.3K | 1.1K | 1 |
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 07/19/24 | $9.3 | $8.75 | $9.35 | $95.00 | $46.7K | 17.4K | 1 |
| MS | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 12/20/24 | $8.85 | $8.75 | $8.85 | $100.00 | $44.2K | 1.3K | 75 |
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments with approximately 45% of net revenue from its institutional securities business, 45% from wealth management, and 10% from investment management. About 30% of its total revenue is from outside the Americas. The company had over $5 trillion of client assets as well as around 80,000 employees at the end of 2023.
Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Morgan Stanley, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.
Present Market Standing of Morgan Stanley
- Currently trading with a volume of 1,786,779, the MS's price is down by 0.0%, now at $104.81.
- RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.
- Anticipated earnings release is in 89 days.
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 Morgan Stanley options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.