Option Focus | SPCX’s $17.76 Million Long Put Spread and $2.94 Million OTM Put Bet Signal Aggressive Institutional Bearishness Despite 3.73% Rally

Option Witch09-09 07:00

SpaceX closed at $153.47, up 3.73%.

Despite the rally, unusually large options trades revealed a decisively bearish institutional undercurrent. The dominant order was a $17.76 million long put spread expiring in 2027, while a separate $2.94 million out-of-the-money put buy reinforced the defensive tone. Underlying call volume was elevated, but the weight of block-level put activity suggests sophisticated investors used strength to fund downside protection.

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Options Indicators

SPCX’s implied volatility stands at 58.65%, and with an IV percentile of 76.30%, current option pricing sits in an elevated volatility regime, indicating that options are expensively priced relative to the stock’s recent historical range. The IV/HV ratio of 1.09 suggests implied volatility is only modestly above realized volatility, so while premiums are rich on a percentile basis, they are not wildly detached from actual recent movement. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.44.

Large Trades

A bearish put spread paid for $17.76 million was the dominant large trade of the day, consisting of a same-direction double-put purchase expiring September 17, 2027. The structure paired a long 245.0 put, which is in the money versus the $153.47 spot reference, with a long 110.0 put, which is out of the money, and the combination should be viewed as a long put spread designed for a sizable downside move over time. Because this is a two-leg put-buying structure, its size is measured by the reported net debit of $17.76 million, signaling an aggressive directional bearish bet rather than premium collection, while also defining the downside exposure through the lower strike. A PUT buy worth $2.94 million was the second-largest displayed trade, with 4,260 contracts bought at the 100.0 strike expiring June 17, 2027. With the underlying reference price at $153.47, this put is currently out of the money, which makes it a lower-delta but still clearly bearish position aimed at protecting against or speculating on a substantial decline over a longer horizon. Overall, the large-trade flow leans decisively bearish: the biggest orders were concentrated in long puts and put-based downside structures, showing investors were willing to spend meaningful premium for protection or downside participation, while the smaller bullish activity was not enough to offset the weight of those bearish block trades.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability sell-side trade, an out-of-the-money put seller could look at the 100.0 strike for the nearer monthly expiration, though the elevated IV percentile argues for using put credit spreads rather than naked short puts to cap margin and gap risk.

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