NEBIUS closed at USD 213.02, down 1.21 percent. A major long strangle position costing $17.38 million, alongside a massive $18.60 million sale of far out-of-the-money calls, dominated the day's institutional options activity, signaling a significant bet on future volatility paired with a bearish to capped-bullish outlook on the stock.
Options Indicators
NBIS has an implied volatility of 142.89%, and with an IV percentile of 100.00%, its current volatility sits at the extreme high end of its historical range. Combined with an IV/HV ratio of 1.26, this suggests the options market is pricing in materially richer premiums than recent realized volatility, indicating options are expensively priced and the market is assigning a very high near-term uncertainty premium. The Call/Put volume ratio is 0.94.
Large Trades
A long call-and-put combination worth $17.38 million established a two-leg long strangle for the August 21, 2026 expiration, consisting of 2,945 contracts bought on the $250.00 call and 2,945 contracts bought on the $200.00 put. Both legs were out of the money versus the $213.02 reference stock price, and because both options were purchased, the position was entered for a net debit. Strategically, this points to a volatility-driven directional bet rather than premium collection, with the trader positioning for a large move in either direction over time while paying upfront premium for convex upside and downside exposure.
The single largest leg of the day was a $18.60 million sale of 1,500 out-of-the-money $340.00 calls expiring December 15, 2028. With the strike far above the current $213.02 stock price, this was an out-of-the-money call sale, and its strategic meaning is broadly bearish to capped-bullish, as the seller is collecting premium while expressing the view that upside to $340.00 is unlikely or at least limited over the life of the contract.
Taken together, the overall large-trade flow leans clearly bearish. The imbalance was driven mainly by the oversized short-call activity, while even the sizable long strangle reflected demand for downside protection as well as upside participation, reinforcing a cautious to negative institutional tone rather than outright bullish conviction.
Strategy Reference
For premium sellers seeking low assignment probability, a far out-of-the-money put, such as the $120.00 strike, could be considered; alternatively, a trader preferring defined risk over a naked short call might implement a bear call spread by selling the $340.00 call and buying a higher strike, like the $360.00 call.
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