Iris Energy Limited closed at USD 38.89, down 4.80%.
IREN’s implied volatility stands at 120.55%, and with an IV percentile of 60.96%, current volatility is best viewed as neutral rather than stretched to an extreme. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 0.83 suggests implied volatility is running below historical realized volatility, indicating options are not especially rich relative to the stock’s actual movement and may be fairly to slightly cheaply priced on a relative basis.
The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.40.
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Options Indicators
Large Trades
A long volatility combination worth $6.45 million was the largest displayed trade, built as a two-leg long strangle using 5,000 December 18, 2026 $35.00 puts and 5,000 December 18, 2026 $60.00 calls. With both legs purchased, the strategy carried a net premium paid of -$6.45 million. Given the reference stock price of $38.89, both the put and the call were out of the money at execution. This structure is typically used for directional exposure to a large future move in either direction, while also expressing a volatility-focused view; the long put provides downside participation below $35.00 and the long call captures upside above $60.00, making the trade a sizable wager that IREN could see a major price swing by late 2026.
Another long strangle worth $1.74 million followed the same design, consisting of bought December 18, 2026 $35.00 puts and bought December 18, 2026 $60.00 calls, this time for 1,350 contracts per leg. Because both option legs were purchased, the net premium paid was -$1.74 million. As with the larger trade, both strikes were out of the money versus the $38.89 reference share price, signaling a position aimed at capturing an outsized move rather than a near-the-money hedge. The repeated use of the same expiration and strike pairing suggests conviction in a high-volatility outcome over a long-dated horizon, with downside protection and upside participation embedded in the same package.
Overall sentiment is moderately bearish on balance. Although the displayed flow clearly includes upside call buying, the larger dollar commitment to put exposure leaves the aggregate tone tilted to the downside, indicating that investors are willing to pay meaningful premium for protection or for participation in a sizable selloff even while keeping exposure to a potential upside breakout. The conclusion is that large-trade activity in IREN reflects expectations for a major move ahead, but with the market leaning bearish rather than bullish.
Strategy Reference
For those seeking to collect premium, the deeply out-of-the-money December 2026 $60.00 calls that were bought in these strangles present a potential short-call candidate with a low assignment probability, though large margin requirements apply; alternatively, a put credit spread using the $35.00 strike as the short leg could define risk and reduce capital outlay for a bearish-to-neutral view.
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