Option Focus | IREN's Bullish Put Sale Dominates Elevated IV Environment, While In-the-Money Put Buy Signals Lingering Downside Concern

Option Witch07-24

IREN closed at USD 40.58, a decrease of 1.70% from the previous session.

Despite the modest daily decline, options flow painted a largely constructive picture, headlined by a multi-million dollar bullish put sale. A single block trade selling out-of-the-money puts anchored the session’s sentiment, while elevated implied volatility created a fertile environment for premium sellers. However, a simultaneously executed in-the-money put purchase injected a note of caution, revealing that some institutional traders are actively hedging against further downside, making the day’s tape a blend of high-conviction bullish positioning and targeted defensive protection.

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Options Indicators

IREN’s implied volatility is 136.47%, and with an IV percentile of 88.05%, current option volatility sits in a clearly elevated range. Relative to its historical movement, the IV/HV ratio of 1.22 also suggests implied volatility is running above realized volatility, reinforcing the view that options are priced expensively at the moment. In this setup, premium buyers are paying up for volatility, while premium-selling structures or defined-risk spreads may offer a more efficient way to express a view. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.15.

Large Trades

A PUT sale worth $0.44 million stood out as one of the day’s largest displayed trades, with 1,108 contracts of the September 18, 2026 $32.00 put sold. With the stock reference price at $40.58, this strike sits out of the money, making the position a moderately bullish premium-selling trade that benefits if IREN stays above $32.00 through expiration. The seller collects premium upfront and is effectively expressing confidence that the shares will remain comfortably above the strike, or at least not decline sharply enough to make assignment unattractive.

A PUT buy worth $0.19 million was the other highlighted large trade, consisting of 1,099 contracts of the July 24, 2026 $41.50 put purchased. Since the strike is above the current stock price of $40.58, the option is in the money, which gives the trade a more defensive and explicitly bearish profile. This buyer is paying premium for downside exposure or protection, signaling concern that IREN could weaken further in the near term and making this trade a direct negative directional bet on the stock.

Overall sentiment in IREN large trades was bullish, with total bullish flow of $1.01 million versus bearish flow of $0.19 million, leaving a net bullish difference of $0.82 million. The directional judgment is clearly positive, as bullish activity outweighed bearish positioning by a wide margin, driven by premium-selling on the out-of-the-money put side and supported by the broader large-trade flow. Even though the in-the-money put purchase shows that some traders are positioning for downside or hedging near-term risk, the aggregate balance of capital suggests the larger conviction remains tilted toward a constructive outlook for IREN.

Strategy Reference

Given the 88th percentile IV environment, traders with a neutral-to-bullish bias can consider selling the September 2026 $32.00 put to capture elevated premium with a wide downside buffer, or structure a bull put spread by adding a long leg at a lower strike to strictly define margin and risk.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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