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 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 MS, 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 29 uncommon options trades for Morgan Stanley.
This isn’t normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 51% bullish and 41%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 19 are puts, for a total amount of $1,479,908, and 10 are calls, for a total amount of $556,972.
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 $45.0 to $130.0 for Morgan Stanley over the last 3 months.
Insights into 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 Morgan Stanley’s 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 Morgan Stanley’s whale trades within a strike price range from $45.0 to $130.0 in the last 30 days.
Morgan Stanley Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview
Largest Options Trades Observed:
| Symbol |
PUT/CALL |
Trade Type |
Sentiment |
Exp. Date |
Ask |
Bid |
Price |
Strike Price |
Total Trade Price |
Open Interest |
Volume |
| MS |
PUT |
SWEEP |
NEUTRAL |
07/18/25 |
$9.2 |
$9.15 |
$9.15 |
$95.00 |
$272.5K |
228 |
4 |
| MS |
PUT |
SWEEP |
BEARISH |
07/18/25 |
$9.15 |
$8.8 |
$9.15 |
$95.00 |
$242.4K |
228 |
665 |
| MS |
CALL |
SWEEP |
BEARISH |
04/11/25 |
$12.25 |
$12.2 |
$12.2 |
$88.00 |
$136.6K |
0 |
0 |
| MS |
PUT |
TRADE |
BULLISH |
12/19/25 |
$36.1 |
$34.7 |
$34.7 |
$130.00 |
$104.1K |
605 |
30 |
| MS |
PUT |
SWEEP |
BEARISH |
04/17/25 |
$6.1 |
$6.05 |
$6.1 |
$97.00 |
$100.6K |
0 |
42 |
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 24% of its total revenue is from outside the Americas. The company had over $6 trillion of client assets as well as around 70,000 employees at the end of 2024.
After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Morgan Stanley, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.
Where Is Morgan Stanley Standing Right Now?
- Trading volume stands at 5,884,411, with MS’s price down by -1.07%, positioned at $98.76.
- RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching oversold.
- Earnings announcement expected in 4 days.
What Analysts Are Saying About Morgan Stanley
Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $133.2.
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.
* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group keeps a Outperform rating on Morgan Stanley with a target price of $138.
* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wells Fargo keeps a Equal-Weight rating on Morgan Stanley with a target price of $130.
* An analyst from JP Morgan persists with their Neutral rating on Morgan Stanley, maintaining a target price of $129.
* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Citigroup continues to hold a Neutral rating for Morgan Stanley, targeting a price of $125.
* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from B of A Securities keeps a Buy rating on Morgan Stanley with a target price of $144.
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 Morgan Stanley, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
