MSFT Call Options Trade at Record Volumes Amid Analyst Optimism

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) call options are seeing unusually high trading volumes, suggesting investors are bullish on the stock's future performance.

The unusual activity is centered around out-of-the-money MSFT call options expiring in 74 days, which have traded at a rate of over 100x the prior number since yesterday's market close.

This surge in trading comes after Microsoft reported strong Q2 free cash flow results on July 29, causing its stock price to jump 19% and further increasing today by over 5% to $488.51.

The high volume of call option trades is driven by investors' expectations that MSFT will move significantly higher in the coming months, with some analysts setting price targets as high as $563.05 and a mean survey price target of $555.81.