OPTIONS FLOW$MSFTMicrosoft CorpOpen ticker analysis →
A $24.8M large options trade hit $MSFT Nov 20 $420 calls on Thursday, the kind of size that gets noticed on Microsoft's options tape. The buyer paid up to get filled, and the strike sits deep in the money, so the position tracks the stock almost dollar for dollar.
What happened
The trade printed midday, around 11:05 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 1, with $MSFT trading near $514.22. 2,500 contracts went through at $99.20 apiece, or $9,920 per contract, for $24.8M in total premium.
It printed as a cross, with a buyer and seller matched in one pre-arranged print, a common way for large desks to trade size.
There were already 18,905 contracts open at this strike, so the trade could be adding to a position or unwinding one. The next open-interest update will settle which.
Why it matters
Buying calls is the straightforward bullish trade. The buyer needs $MSFT above about $519.20 by Nov 20 to come out ahead at expiration, 1% from where the stock traded.
Adjusted for delta, the position behaves like roughly 234,100 shares of MSFT, or about $120.37M of stock exposure in a company valued near $3.81T.
With 50 days until Nov 20, this is positioning for months, not a quick flip. Implied volatility sat near 38%, a middle-of-the-road price for movement.
Over the last 11 sessions $MSFT has traded between $487.23 and $519.83 and is up 3.5% over that stretch. The stock came into this trade near the top of that range.
The numbers
| Contract | MSFT Nov 20 $420 Call |
|---|---|
| Expiration | Nov 20, 2026 (50 days) |
| Execution | Large Options Trade |
| Side | Buy side (at or near the ask) |
| Contracts | 2,500 |
| Price | $99.20 ($9,920 per contract) |
| Total premium | $24.8M |
| Stock at the trade | $514.22 |
| Strike vs. stock | 18.3% in the money |
| Breakeven at expiration | $519.20 |
| Delta | 0.94 |
| Implied volatility | 38% |
| Open interest before | 18,905 |
Three ways this could play out
Bullish continuation
If $MSFT pushes through $519.83, the top of its recent range, the move works for this buyer and the flow starts to look like early conviction rather than noise.
Bearish rejection
If $MSFT slips under $487.23, the bottom of its recent range, the pressure lands on this buyer, and $519.20 becomes the level that decides whether the trade is saved.
Neutral stabilization
If $MSFT chops between $487.23 and $519.83 into Nov 20, time decay does the work. That slowly bleeds this buyer, who loses a little value every day the stock goes nowhere.
What to watch next
- $519.20: breakeven for this trade at expiration.
- $420 strike: whether $MSFT moves toward it or away from it.
- Open interest at the $420 call in the next session. A jump confirms a new position; a drop points to a close.
- Repeat flow in the Nov 20 expiration. More size at nearby strikes would show this was not a one-off.
- $487.23 and $519.83: the edges of MSFT’s recent trading range.
- November 20, 2026: expiration, 50 days out.
