Netflix closed at USD 71.79, down 4.67 percent from the previous close. The options tape showed a notable divergence between heavy call volume and decisively bearish large-trade flow. While the headline Call/Put volume ratio was 1.68, a single $4.24 million in-the-money put purchase dominated the large orders, signaling that institutional conviction leaned firmly to the defensive or bearish side despite the broader retail-oriented call activity.
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Options Indicators
NFLX’s implied volatility is 35.54%, and with an IV percentile of 34.66%, current volatility sits in a broadly neutral zone rather than an especially cheap or expensive extreme. The IV/HV ratio of 1.03 suggests implied volatility is only slightly above historical realized volatility, indicating options are being priced fairly close to the stock’s recent actual movement rather than carrying a large volatility premium.
The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.68. This superficially points to stronger call demand, but the large-trade breakdown below shows that the bulk-order flow was not aligned with that headline reading. When call volume is high but large prints are concentrated in long puts and call selling, the volume ratio alone can overstate bullish sentiment among informed participants.
Large Trades
A PUT buy worth $4.24 million dominated the displayed large trades, with investors purchasing 1,210 contracts of the 107.0 strike put expiring on 2026-12-18. With NFLX referenced at $71.79, this put was in the money at the time of the trade, which makes it a high-conviction bearish position with substantial intrinsic value exposure. The trade suggests the buyer was positioning for further downside or securing meaningful downside protection over a long-dated horizon, and the aggressive premium outlay points to a clearly defensive-to-bearish stance rather than a low-cost hedge.
Overall, the bulk-order flow in NFLX was decisively bearish. The largest displayed trade was an in-the-money long put, while the rest of the notable flow also leaned to the bearish side through call selling, showing little sign of bullish risk-taking in the large-trade tape. Taken together, the activity indicates institutional traders were either expressing a negative directional view or using options to position conservatively against weakness, so the near-to-medium-term sentiment from large orders should be read as clearly bearish.
Strategy Reference
For traders who want to fade the bearish large-order flow but prefer to avoid paying elevated long premium, selling the 2026-12-18 55.00 put in NFLX could provide a lower assignment probability if the stock remains above that strike, while keeping a wide cushion below the current USD 71.79 close; alternatively, a bear put spread such as buying the 107.00 put and selling the 85.00 put with the same expiration can define maximum loss and reduce the net premium outlay against the large in-the-money put flow.
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