Large Blocks Emerging Like Bamboo Shoots After a Spring Rain
Last Friday, a large block positioned ahead of an anticipated rise in Qualcomm by buying out-of-the-money calls expiring November 7th with a 180 strike $QCOM 20251107 180.0 CALL$ . They opened 7,633 contracts at an average price of around $2.85.
Currently, that entry price looks quite precise.
On Monday, someone opened a position by selling 10,000 contracts of the 175 strike put expiring December 19th $QCOM 20251219 175.0 PUT$ .
It currently looks like QCOM will oscillate around the 180 level before attempting another push higher. The call buying was likely due to high volatility, hence the focus on near-term expiries. Buying longer-dated calls probably requires waiting for now. One could consider selling puts on any pullback, like the $QCOM 20251031 175.0 PUT$ .
A break above 200 is back on the agenda. While it might not happen this week... or could it? It's hard to say, as the bulls seem ready. The 200 and 205 calls top the volume rankings $NVDA 20251031 200.0 CALL$ $NVDA 20251031 205.0 CALL$ .
For puts, support has moved higher, making a break below 180 difficult $NVDA 20251031 180.0 PUT$ .
Unclear whether NVDA will hit 200 or AMD will hit 300 first.
The biggest recent topic is likely whether NVDA hits 200 or AMD hits 300 first.
If worried about buying at the peak, consider a sell put strategy, which large blocks are also choosing $AMD 20251031 237.5 PUT$ .
Tesla is also showing signs of breaking 500. Considering Musk's penchant for the spotlight, it might just take one sharp move.
However, a large long call position rolled at this juncture, moving the same strike out by a month: closing the $TSLA 20251219 455.0 CALL$ and rolling to the $TSLA 20260116 455.0 CALL$ . The implication of this move isn't entirely clear.
Additionally, there were large blocks selling the January 550 and 560 calls $TSLA 20260116 550.0 CALL$ $TSLA 20260116 560.0 CALL$ .
Combined with the roll, this often suggests expectations of a period of consolidation, but the price trend doesn't quite look like that. Puzzling.
Monday's order flow was surprising. I expected some temporary moderation, but the market looks ready to charge straight towards 700.
A large block even bought 10,000 contracts of the far-dated 900 call $SPY 20270115 900.0 CALL$ .
This week, it's either a dip below 690, with a pullback target around 682, or a break above 690 heading for 700.
Several mega-cap tech stocks are well-suited for at-the-money put sales this week. Earnings expectations are strong, but the stocks have already rallied significantly, potentially limiting major upside.
Apple might trade around 267.5–270 later in the week, though a direct break towards 280 can't be ruled out.
A suitable strike for selling puts could be 260 $AAPL 20251031 260.0 PUT$ .
Might be engaging in some actions to boost the share price again, with large blocks opening long-dated calls.
For example, the 49 call expiring in Jan '26 $INTC 20260116 49.0 CALL$ saw volume of 10,000 contracts for a total premium of ~$1.73M.
A large long call position rolled up from the 40 to the 50 strike: closing the $INTC 20251121 40.0 CALL$ and opening the $INTC 20260116 50.0 CALL$ .
Most notably, the 45 call expiring Nov 21st $INTC 20251121 45.0 CALL$ saw huge volume of 116k contracts and open interest increase of 89k contracts.
Alphabet's earnings are a bit murky, but the overall long-term trend is likely still positive.
This week, a large block bought deep in-the-money weekly calls $GOOGL 20251031 240.0 CALL$ – often a strategy used when significant upward movement isn't strongly expected.
A large block bought longer-dated 250 puts $GOOGL 20260417 250.0 PUT$ .
A bullish call spread was executed, buying the 290 call and selling the 315 call, both expiring Dec 19th $GOOGL 20251219 290.0 CALL$ $GOOGL 20251219 315.0 CALL$ .
A large block sold longer-dated puts $META 20260116 745.0 PUT$ .
The most crazy bullish bet today. A large block bought 72,000 contracts of the Dec 30 call $CORZ 20251219 30.0 CALL$ , with total volume of 92.5k contracts representing roughly $7M in premium.
CRWV is attempting to acquire CORZ, currently facing some disputes. Details can be found in other community posts.
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