Large Block of Calls Sold on Morgan Stanley

Options Unusual Activity

Large Block of Calls Sold on Morgan Stanley

Posted September 6th, 2012 by The Options Insider in Unusual Activity

Large Block of Calls Sold on Morgan Stanley

Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) are on the rise this morning, currently up by 3.13%, trading at $16.17. The stock has been ticking higher over the past two months and is currently testing the 200-day moving average.

Call volume is running quite high on the name today with nearly 104,000 contracts traded. This places the name square in the top-5 most active names today.

The heaviest action is coming on the September $17 call, where over 75,000 contracts have traded on open interest of 144,762. A large block trade occurred on the strike a short while ago, where 50,000 contracts were sold, on the bid, for a net credit of $0.13.

While not above open interest, the trade is notable. With shares just touching the 200-day moving average, this could be a long shareholder overwriting his or her position, thereby voicing the opinion that shares are topped out here.

Also interesting is that this is the second day in a row that the Sept $17 strike has seen large block trades. Yesterday, over 30,000 contracts traded on the strike for $0.10.

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals.