Market Overview
Wall Street tumbled on Friday (Oct 16), with CoreWeave, Broadcom and other AI-related technology stocks under renewed pressure, while a jump in oil prices spooked traders heading into the weekend.
The Nasdaq fell over 4% for the week, hammered by concerns that debt-laden AI infrastructure companies may not turn profits in time to repay debts, particularly with borrowing costs expected to rise.
Regarding the options market, a total volume of 62,950,524 contracts was traded, of which 53% were call options.
Top 10 Option Volumes
Top 10: NVIDIA, Apple, Micron Technology, SpaceX, CoreWeave, Intel, Meta Platforms, Palantir Technologies, Amazon.com, Advanced Micro Devices
NVIDIA closed at $214.13, slipping 1.43% last Friday. Block activity points to a nuanced canvas: a $2.90 million short strangle monetizes range-bound expectations, while a $1.30 million bear call spread explicitly caps upside. Although the broader flow retains a bullish lean from repeated put selling and put spreads, these large trades signal that institutions are actively selling elevated premium instead of chasing a breakout, with a premium-rich volatility backdrop shaping conviction.
A $2.90 million premium-selling combination was opened through the sale of the 210.0 put and the 240.0 call, both expiring on 2026-12-18, with both strikes out of the money versus the $214.13 stock reference. Because this structure consists of a Sell Put and a Sell Call rather than a synthetic call or synthetic put, it is best understood as a short volatility, range-bound premium collection trade, expressing the view that NVIDIA is likely to stay above $210.0 and below $240.0 into expiration. The trade’s size is the stated $2.90 million net credit, and the strategic intent is income generation with a moderately constructive-to-neutral stance, since the short put benefits from price stability or upside while the short call caps the trader’s tolerance for a strong rally.
Source: Tiger Trade App
A bearish call spread collecting $1.30 million in net credit was established using the 2026-10-23 expiration by selling the 220.0 call and buying the 227.5 call, with both legs out of the money relative to the current $214.13 stock price. As a bear call spread, this is a defined-risk premium collection strategy that profits if NVIDIA remains below the 220.0 short strike, reflecting a directional bet that upside will be limited over the life of the trade while also hedging the unlimited risk of a naked short call through the long 227.5 call. The use of an out-of-the-money short call spread suggests the trader is comfortable leaning bearish or at least skeptical of a breakout above the low-220s.
Overall, the large-trade flow still leans bullish on balance, but with a clearly cautious tone rather than outright aggressive upside chasing. The broader block activity shows meaningful support from repeated short put and bullish put-spread positioning, which indicates institutional willingness to get paid while betting NVIDIA can hold key downside levels. At the same time, the displayed top trades reveal an important countercurrent of upside-capping structures, especially the bear call spread and the large premium-selling combination, suggesting traders expect containment and elevated option premium rather than a runaway rally. The best conclusion is moderately bullish but range-aware: institutions appear constructive on NVIDIA’s floor, yet they are also actively monetizing the view that near-to-medium-term upside may be limited.
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Unusual Options Activity
CoreWeave closed at $61.39, down 11.91% last Friday. Options flow in CoreWeave turned sharply defensive on the session, punctuated by a $3.03 million long-dated put purchase and a bear put spread opened for a net debit of $263,300. The combination of heavy downside premium buying, elevated implied volatility, and a near-parity call/put volume ratio suggests institutional traders are positioning for further weakness rather than chasing a rebound.
CoreWeave’s implied volatility is 120.85%, and with an IV percentile of 96.41%, current option volatility sits at a clearly elevated level versus its recent history. That indicates options are priced expensively, with the market embedding very large expected moves and a rich volatility premium; the IV/HV ratio of 1.50 further suggests implied volatility is running well above realized volatility.
A put buy worth $3.03 million was the single largest large trade, with 1,500 contracts purchased on the June 16, 2028 $60.00 put. With the stock reference price at $61.39, this strike sits slightly out of the money, making it a relatively close-to-spot downside wager. The buyer paid meaningful premium for long-dated protection or outright bearish exposure, which points to expectations of weakness over a multi-year horizon or a desire to hedge substantial downside risk while preserving convex payoff if CRWV breaks lower.
Source: Tiger Trade App
A bearish put spread established for a net debit of $263,300 was the other highlighted large trade, built by buying the November 20, 2026 $55.00 put and selling the November 20, 2026 $50.00 put in the same 2,026-contract size. Both strikes are currently out of the money versus the $61.39 reference price, so this is a defined-risk downside structure aimed at profiting from a move lower into that strike zone by expiration. Because it was opened as a bear put spread for a net debit, the trade reflects a moderately bearish directional bet with controlled premium outlay, suggesting the trader expects downside but within a targeted range rather than an extreme collapse.
Overall, the large-trade flow leans bearish on CRWV. The clearest signal comes from the dominance of downside-oriented premium buying in the most important prints, especially the largest long-dated put purchase and the added bear put spread, both of which express intentional demand for downside exposure rather than income collection. Although there was some offset from put selling and selective bullish premium selling elsewhere in the tape, the broader character of the bulk orders still indicates cautious-to-negative sentiment, with traders appearing more focused on hedging or positioning for further weakness than on chasing upside.
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