Option Focus | SK hynix's $12 Million Bull Put Spread Leads Decisively Bullish Flow Despite Cheap IV

Option Witch07-31 15:56

SK hynix closed at USD 149.0, up 17.52%.

A surge in SK hynix shares was met with overwhelmingly bullish options flow, headlined by a massive $11.96 million bull put spread. This strategic trade defined the session, dwarfing a modest $1.08 million protective put buyout and setting a decisively constructive tone, even as volatility metrics suggest options remain relatively cheap.

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Options Indicators

SKHY’s implied volatility is 120.06%, while its IV percentile stands at 7.69%, indicating that despite the headline IV level appearing high in absolute terms, current option pricing is still cheap relative to its own historical range and volatility conditions are on the low side. With an IV/HV ratio of 0.74, implied volatility is also running below realized volatility, reinforcing the view that options are not being priced aggressively at the moment. The Call/Put volume ratio is 0.70.

Large Trades

A bullish put spread with a total traded amount of $11.96 million was the dominant large trade, structured as a long 110.0 put expiring August 28, 2026 and a short 125.0 put expiring August 7, 2026, each for 12,800 contracts. Using the provided legs, this strategy received $5.16 million from the short put and paid $6.80 million for the long put, resulting in a net premium of -$1.64 million, or a net debit. With SKHY referenced at $149.00, both strikes were out of the money, and the overall setup reflects a bullish-to-neutral stance that seeks to express constructive directional exposure while defining downside risk through the lower-strike long put. The trade suggests the investor is positioning for the shares to remain firm above the short 125.0 strike into the nearer expiry, while maintaining downside protection through the longer-dated 110.0 put.

A PUT buy worth $1.08 million was the other highlighted large trade, consisting of 21,500 contracts of the 100.0 put expiring August 7, 2026. With the stock at $149.00, this put was out of the money at execution, making it a clearly bearish position that would benefit from a sharp decline toward or below the strike before expiration. As a single-leg put purchase, the trade implies the buyer was either seeking downside speculation or portfolio protection, but in either case it represents a direct expression of caution on SKHY over that maturity.

Overall, the large-trade flow was decisively bullish. The sentiment was led by the much larger bullish premium concentrated in the bull put spread and reinforced by the smaller supportive put-selling activity in the full tape, while bearish interest was limited to a pair of put purchases that were modest by comparison. Taken together, the options activity points to investors leaning constructively on SKHY, with the dominant positioning favoring stability or upside rather than preparing for a sustained decline.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability, a seller could consider the short 125.0 put leg from the highlighted spread as a template, though a more conservative approach might target an out-of-the-money strike with a nearer expiration to collect premium in alignment with the prevailing bullish flow.

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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