Option Focus | SPCX Sees $30 Million Deep ITM Put Block, Synthetic Long Fails to Offset Broadly Bearish Tone

SPCX shares closed at $156.11 on Tuesday, up 0.98%, but activity in the options market painted a more cautious picture. A deep in-the-money put purchase worth more than $30 million stood out as the session’s most notable trade, while a mix of bullish and bearish structures emerged across the tape. Overall, options flow suggested a defensive bias, with downside protection attracting the bulk of institutional capital.

Options Metrics

SPCX's implied volatility (IV) stood at 94.07%, with its IV percentile reaching 98.58%, indicating that option premiums are trading near the upper end of their historical range and remain relatively expensive.

The IV-to-historical volatility (HV) ratio was 0.50, highlighting a divergence between implied and realized volatility expectations. Meanwhile, the call-to-put volume ratio came in at 1.15.

Block Trade Activity

The session’s most significant single-leg trade was a $30.43 million put purchase.

The transaction involved buying 4,190 contracts of the July 17, 2026 $220 put. With SPCX trading at $156.11, the option was deeply in the money, suggesting a substantial commitment to downside protection or a bearish directional view.

$SPCX 20260717 220.0 PUT$

Source: Tiger Trade App

Given the long-dated maturity and deep intrinsic value of the contract, the position appears less consistent with short-term speculation and more indicative of medium- to long-term hedging activity or a conviction that the underlying could face sustained weakness. The trade represents one of the strongest bearish signals seen in the day’s options flow.

Another notable transaction was a synthetic long position valued at approximately $9.62 million, representing the session’s most prominent bullish structure.

The strategy consisted of selling the March 19, 2027 $140 put while simultaneously purchasing the March 19, 2027 $250 call. This classic synthetic long structure is designed to establish bullish exposure while improving capital efficiency.

$SPCX 20270319 140.0 PUT$

$SPCX 20270319 250.0 CALL$

Source: Tiger Trade App

Both legs were out of the money, indicating that the trader was not positioning for a modest near-term move but rather expressing confidence in longer-term upside potential. By selling the put, the investor accepts the obligation to buy shares at lower levels in exchange for enhanced participation in a potential rally.

Such structures are typically associated with a constructive medium- to long-term outlook and reflect a willingness to assume downside assignment risk in pursuit of greater upside leverage.

Market Sentiment

Taken as a whole, SPCX block-trade activity skewed decisively bearish.

Bullish premium totaled approximately $23.20 million, compared with $60.31 million in bearish premium, leaving a net bearish imbalance of $37.11 million.

While the tape included several constructive positions—including synthetic longs, bull put spreads, and multiple short-put trades that suggest some investors are selectively accumulating exposure or harvesting premium—the largest concentration of capital was directed toward long-put purchases and other defensive bearish structures.

The imbalance suggests that institutional participants remain more focused on protecting against downside risks than positioning for further gains. As a result, overall sentiment in the options market remains cautious, defensive, and tilted toward a weaker outlook for the underlying.

Strategy Watch

With implied volatility elevated and options flow signaling a bearish bias, premium-selling strategies may warrant consideration.

Traders seeking to benefit from rich option premiums could look at selling deep out-of-the-money options with relatively low probabilities of expiring in the money. For those looking to limit margin requirements and define risk, spread-based approaches such as bull put spreads or bear call spreads may offer a more capital-efficient way to express directional views while maintaining controlled exposure.