Amazon.com Inc. closed at USD 247.23, down 1.06% from the previous session.
Despite the day's price dip, large options traders executed notable bullish strategies, including a multi-million dollar, long-dated call combination expressing a view for significant upside over the next two years.
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Options Indicators
AMZN’s implied volatility is 45.62%, and with an IV percentile of 93.63%, current option pricing sits in a clearly elevated regime. In other words, implied volatility is not just high in absolute terms, but also rich relative to its own historical range, indicating that options are priced expensively. The IV/HV ratio of 1.43 further shows implied volatility is running well above realized volatility, suggesting the market is assigning a meaningful premium to future uncertainty. The Call/Put volume ratio of 2.23 underscores a strong preference for calls over puts.
Large Trades
A calendar-style CALL combination worth $8.37 million was the dominant large trade of the day, and it was structured as a net debit bullish position. The trader bought 6,000 September 18, 2026 $275.0 calls, bought 6,000 October 16, 2026 $300.0 calls, added another 1,500 October 16, 2026 $300.0 calls, and sold 6,000 September 18, 2026 $325.0 calls, with every leg out of the money versus the $247.23 reference stock price. This creates a long-dated upside expression with capped short-call financing in the nearer September maturity and added exposure in October at the $300 strike. Strategically, this looks like a directional bullish bet implemented through a net premium outlay, seeking a meaningful upside move over time while partially offsetting cost through the short $325.0 calls.
A smaller $0.73 million cross-expiration CALL+PUT combination was also opened as a net credit structure with a moderately bullish bias. The trader sold 1,500 July 24, 2026 $242.5 puts, bought 1,500 July 24, 2026 $257.5 calls, sold 3,000 July 24, 2026 $227.5 puts, bought 1,500 July 17, 2026 $222.5 puts, and sold 1,500 July 17, 2026 $252.5 calls, with all legs out of the money. The position mixes short downside premium with upside call exposure and a small near-term hedge layer, suggesting premium collection combined with a directional bet that AMZN holds above lower put strikes and potentially pushes higher into the July 24 expiration, while the short near-dated call helps finance the structure.
Overall sentiment in AMZN large trades was bullish, with $9.44 million in bullish flow versus $2.04 million in bearish flow, leaving a net bullish difference of $7.40 million. The directional tone is clearly positive because the largest activity was concentrated in upside CALL structures, especially the sizable long-dated net-debit call combination that expressed willingness to pay for future upside. Even where premium-selling elements appeared, they were generally embedded within broader structures that still leaned constructive rather than outright defensive, indicating traders were positioning for upside participation while managing cost and risk rather than preparing for a meaningful downside move.
Strategy Reference
Given the high implied volatility regime, an option seller could target shorting out-of-the-money puts, such as the July $227.5 strike seen in the large trades, for premium collection with relatively low assignment risk if the bullish thesis holds; for a defined-risk bullish play, a bull call spread using the October $300/$325 strikes could offer upside participation with limited capital outlay.
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