Option Focus | Alphabet’s $18.49 Million Bull Call Spread Targets 370–440 Zone by 2026, Signaling Institutional Upside Conviction Despite Modest Put Hedging

Option Witch07:02

Alphabet Inc. closed at USD 338.36, down 0.03% from the prior session’s finish.

The options market saw a dominant bullish large trade, with a $18.49 million call spread package targeting the 370.00–440.00 strike zone by November 2026. This institutional-style upside conviction was only partially offset by a much smaller $837,000 put purchase, suggesting selective downside hedging rather than a shift in sentiment.

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Options Indicators

GOOGL’s implied volatility is 32.59%, and with an IV percentile of 26.69%, current option pricing sits in the lower end of its historical range, indicating volatility is relatively subdued and options are cheaply priced. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 1.53 shows implied volatility is still running above realized volatility, meaning the market is pricing in more forward-looking movement than what has recently occurred. The Call/Put volume ratio is 2.51.

Large Trades

A call spread package with a net debit of $18.49 million was the dominant large trade of the day, structured as a 10-leg bullish call spread expiring on November 20, 2026. Across the package, the trader repeatedly bought the 370.00 calls and sold the 440.00 calls, making this a vertical call spread rather than a synthetic position. Because it contains both Buy Call and Sell Call legs, it should be read as a spread strategy, and its size is defined by the provided net debit of $18.49 million. With both strikes above the $338.36 reference stock price, all legs were out of the money, signaling a directional upside bet on GOOGL over the longer term. The net-debit structure indicates premium paid upfront for leveraged participation in a rally toward the 370.00–440.00 zone, while the short 440.00 calls cap the upside in exchange for lowering entry cost, which is consistent with a bullish but risk-defined positioning view rather than pure premium collection.

A put buy worth $837,000 was the other displayed large trade, consisting of 1,800 contracts of the 330.00 put expiring on September 18, 2026. With the strike below the $338.36 reference price, the contract was out of the money at execution, and the purchase reflects a bearish stance or downside hedge over a medium-term horizon. Even so, the broader large-order flow still points clearly bullish: the overwhelming feature of the session was the very large upside call-spread accumulation, while the bearish put purchase was much smaller and looks more like protection or a limited downside expression than a conviction-shifting signal. Overall, institutional-style flow suggests investors are positioned for higher GOOGL prices, with sentiment leaning bullish but accompanied by some selective downside hedging.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability on the call side, a seller could consider the 440.00 strike in the November 2026 expiration, as it caps the dominant spread and sits far above spot with implied volatility already subdued; alternatively, a bullish put spread using a short 300.00 put and long 280.00 put could express upside conviction with reduced margin compared to outright call buying.

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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