Option Focus | SpaceX's $6.24 Million Short Call on 2028 $185 Strike Caps Upside as Net-Credit Calendar Combo Reinforces Bearish Premium Collection

Option Witch07:00

SpaceX closed at 139.65 USD, with a -2.57 % change.

The session was defined by a standout $6.24 million short call on the January 21, 2028 $185.00 strike, accompanied by a net-credit calendar-style multi-leg combination that collected $87,100.00 in premium. These trades drove a clearly bearish bulk-order tape, with $7.56 million in bearish large-trade activity against $3.87 million bullish, leaving a net bearish imbalance of $3.69 million and signaling a market focused on capping upside rather than chasing a rally.

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Options Indicators

SPCX’s implied volatility stands at 67.33%, and with an IV percentile of 79.15%, current option volatility is in the elevated zone, indicating that options are priced expensively relative to the stock’s own recent history. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 0.67 suggests implied volatility is running below historical realized volatility, which somewhat tempers the rich-looking percentile reading, but overall the options market is still reflecting a relatively high volatility regime rather than a cheap one.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.62.

Large Trades

A bearish call sale worth $6.24 million was the standout large trade of the session, with 2,000 contracts sold on the January 21, 2028 $185.00 call. With the stock reference at $139.65, this strike sits out of the money, making it a classic premium-selling expression that leans bearish to neutral. The seller appears to be positioning for SPCX to remain below $185.00 into long-dated expiration, or at least for upside to be limited enough that time decay works in their favor, which reinforces a view of capped upside rather than aggressive bullish participation.

A net-credit calendar-style multi-leg CALL+PUT combination brought in $87,100.00, built through the purchase of the August 21, 2026 $140.00 put, the sale of the August 28, 2026 $145.00 call, the sale of the August 28, 2026 $127.00 put, the purchase of the August 21, 2026 $150.00 call, and the sale of the August 21, 2026 $155.00 call. This structure mixes short premium with hedged wings and a near-dated versus later-dated component, pointing to a tactical premium-collection setup rather than a simple outright directional bet. The long $140.00 put adds downside protection, while the short calls above spot and the short $127.00 put suggest the trader is willing to lean against large near-term moves and harvest decay within a defined-risk framework, leaving the overall stance mildly bearish to neutral given the call-heavy short exposure and the fact that the trade was initiated for a net credit.

Overall, bulk-order flow was bearish, with $7.56 million of bearish large-trade activity versus $3.87 million of bullish flow, for a net bearish imbalance of $3.69 million. The directional takeaway is clearly negative: the tape was dominated by upside call selling, led by the very large 2028 $185.00 call write, while the featured multi-leg structure also emphasized net premium collection with a cautious, hedged posture rather than outright upside conviction. Even though there was some supportive put selling and selective call buying elsewhere in the book, the heavier concentration of bearish premium-selling activity indicates market participants were more focused on capping upside and monetizing volatility than positioning for a strong rally.

Strategy Reference

For traders seeking a low assignment probability, selling the January 21, 2028 $185.00 call remains the dominant play, but those preferring defined risk can replicate the session’s tone with a bear call spread such as shorting the $150.00 call and buying the $155.00 call in the August 21, 2026 expiration, or use a put spread to monetize elevated IV without unlimited short-call exposure.

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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