MS options flow: unusual options activity in Morgan Stanley
Updated 28 September 2026, 09:54 ET
Over the last week the tape recorded 179 unusual options prints in Morgan Stanley (MS), $16.6M of tracked premium, close to even between bullish and bearish premium. Bullish premium was $7.3M against $7.5M bearish; $6.2M went into calls and $10.4M into puts, a put call ratio of 1.68. The largest print was $1.2M of MS 21 Jan 2028 $170 puts on 24 September 2026, executed at bid. The last session with prints, 25 September 2026, added 18 prints and $1.0M of premium. MS closed at $196.31 on 25 September 2026, unchanged.
This week's unusual flow
Prints from 21 September 2026 to 25 September 2026, 5 sessions. Delayed tier: every print is shown twenty minutes after it executed, and the page is rebuilt after each session.
Net premium is bullish minus bearish premium. The put call ratio is put premium divided by call premium, weighted by money rather than by contract count. Sweeps is the share of prints executed across several exchanges at once. Read the guide: Reading the Pulse.
Largest prints of the week
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 21 Jan 2028 $170 puts | Trade | 845 | 267 | $1.2M | At bid | Bullish | Whale |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 17 Sep 2027 $190 puts | Trade | 500 | 156 | $960K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 22 Sep 2026 | MS 21 Jan 2028 $140 puts | Trade | 1,100 | 631 | $715K | At ask | Neutral | Notable |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 21 Jan 2028 $195 puts | Trade | 200 | 405 | $498K | At ask | Bearish | |
| 22 Sep 2026 | MS 16 Apr 2027 $190 puts | Trade | 350 | 61 | $490K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Jan 2027 $190 puts | Trade | 450 | 2,557 | $475K | At bid | Bullish | Notable |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Jan 2027 $195 calls | Sweep | 285 | 794 | $442K | At ask | Bullish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 19 Mar 2027 $220 calls | Trade | 500 | 1,479 | $435K | At ask | Bullish | |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 19 Jan 2029 $180 puts | Trade | 133 | 0 | $320K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 22 Sep 2026 | MS 19 Jan 2029 $200 puts | Sweep | 90 | 50 | $289K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 17 Jun 2027 $160 puts | Trade | 400 | 1,516 | $274K | At bid | Neutral | |
| 24 Sep 2026 | MS 19 Jan 2029 $180 puts | Sweep | 111 | 0 | $265K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
Size above open interest means the trade opened a position larger than everything that existed in the contract the night before. Above ask and below bid are the most aggressive executions. Read the guide: Size versus open interest.
Where the money is aimed
| Expiry | Prints | Premium | Calls share | Net premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 2026 | 68 | $3.7M | 58% | -$503K |
| 21 Jan 2028 | 7 | $2.8M | 12% | +$1.1M |
| 15 Jan 2027 | 17 | $1.8M | 52% | +$1.3M |
| 17 Jun 2027 | 14 | $1.5M | 30% | +$439K |
| 17 Sep 2027 | 6 | $1.5M | 0% | -$1.3M |
| 16 Apr 2027 | 10 | $931K | 34% | -$368K |
The most premium, $3.7M, is aimed at the 18 Dec 2026 expiry.
A print in a contract expiring this week is a view about the next few days, often about a known event; a print months out is a different kind of statement. Read the guide: 0DTE options flow.
The last session, 25 September 2026
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Jan 2027 $180 puts | Trade | 300 | 2,759 | $202K | At bid | Bullish | |
| 25 Sep 2026 | MS 30 Oct 2026 $185 puts | Sweep | 325 | 44 | $122K | At bid | Bullish | High conviction |
| 25 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Dec 2028 $150 calls | Trade | 10 | 234 | $66K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
| 25 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Dec 2028 $150 calls | Trade | 10 | 234 | $66K | At bid | Bearish | |
| 25 Sep 2026 | MS 15 Dec 2028 $150 calls | Trade | 10 | 234 | $66K | At bid | Bearish |
Every print in MS with its full detail, the live tape, one tap filters and saved screeners: open MS in Options Sentiment Screener.
Price
The live quote and the price chart sit beside the ticker's flow in the app: open MS in Options Sentiment Screener.
Analysts
The most recent analyst targets on file, from 13 firms, have a median of $240, 22.3% above the last close. The last 90 days brought 1 upgrade and 1 downgrade.
Calls bought at a strike above the average target are a bet that the analysts are too cautious; puts far below the price in a name they like are protection or a strong disagreement. Read the guide: Reading one ticker's flow.
About Morgan Stanley
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Sector
- Financials
- Industry
- Trading
- Headquarters
- NEW YORK, New York
- Website
- morganstanley.com
Morgan Stanley provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Wealth Management segment offers financial advisor-led brokerage and investment advisory services. The Investment Management segment provides equity, fixed income, liquidity, and alternative/other products.
In the same sector
Flow pages for other Financials names in the S&P 500:
JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co.V Visa Inc.MA Mastercard Inc.BAC Bank of America Corp.GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc.WFC Wells Fargo & CompanyC Citigroup Inc.AXP American Express Co.
Learn
- What unusual options activity means
- Reading one ticker's flow
- Sweeps, blocks and where a trade printed
- Size versus open interest
- Bullish or bearish, how a print's sentiment is inferred
- The conviction score and whale prints
The live tape for MS with every print's execution detail, one tap filters for calls, puts, sweeps and 0DTE, saved screeners and, for Realtime subscribers, push alerts and no delay. The same screen is in the iOS and Android apps.
Open MS in Options Sentiment Screener