Applied Materials closed at USD 514.33, down 3.92% from the prior close, after trading between USD 497.73 and USD 516.83 and ending post-market at USD 508.37.
Large options trades in AMAT were exclusively bearish, with a single 1,038-contract long put at the $400 strike expiring in 2026 dominating flow. Total bearish premium reached $0.01 million against zero bullish premium, leaving a net bearish difference of $0.01 million and signaling institutional positioning for downside rather than upside participation.
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Options Indicators
AMAT’s implied volatility is 60.50%, while its IV percentile stands at 59.36%, which places current volatility in a neutral range rather than an extreme one. In other words, options are not especially cheap, but they also are not in a clearly overpriced regime based on their recent history. With the IV/HV ratio at 0.73, implied volatility is running below historical volatility, suggesting the market’s forward volatility pricing is somewhat restrained relative to what the stock has recently realized.
The Call/Put volume ratio is 0.77.
Large Trades
A PUT buy worth $0.01 million was opened in the August 21, 2026 $400.00 strike, with 1,038 contracts traded for a total premium of $0.01 million. With AMAT referenced at $514.33, this put sits out of the money, making it a relatively low-cost bearish position that would benefit from a meaningful decline in the stock over time. Strategically, this looks like a directional downside bet, potentially also serving as tail-risk protection given the distant strike and long-dated expiration.
Overall sentiment in AMAT’s large-trade flow was bearish, with total bullish premium at $0.00 million versus total bearish premium at $0.01 million, leaving a net bearish difference of $0.01 million. The conclusion is straightforwardly negative in directional tone, as the only notable large trade was an out-of-the-money long put, indicating that institutional activity in this sample was focused on downside exposure rather than upside participation.
Strategy Reference
For a low assignment probability, a seller could consider the $400.00 strike put expiring in August 2026, which sits far out of the money relative to the current $514.33 price; alternatively, a bear put spread using the $400.00 and $350.00 strikes may reduce margin requirements while still benefiting from a moderate decline.
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