TSLA and NVDIA, two of Q1’s strongest large caps, had notable unusual options activity last week
While many investors brush off options, many others like to “follow the flow.” They want to know what the big funds and institutions are doing. We can follow their footsteps when looking for unusual options activity.
Fortunately, there’s Fintel’s leaderboard of options activity for both calls and puts, helping us keep track of it all when we see outsized volume.
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What are we seeing? Let’s look at 10 stocks with some heavy call flow over the last week.
Tesla (TSLA)
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is nearly always near the top of our list when it comes to options flow. This week, it’s our Number 1 name. That’s after a few rather sizable trades took place on March 29 and 30.
Someone bought more than $150 million worth of the January 2024 $450 puts, then sold more than $134 million worth of the January 2024 $416.67 puts. They also sold $47.8 million worth of the June $400 puts and bought $31.5 million of the June $366.67 puts.
There was more action in these strikes — specifically another purchase for $155 million of the January 2024 $450 puts — as well as significant action in the aforementioned June strikes. Nine-digit trades in the options world is a huge position.
A day later, traders were hammering the same trade in size. Specifically, they bought the January 2024 $450 puts for $76.5 million and $65.2 million, while selling $66.3 million worth of the January 2024 $416.67 puts. Another big trade took place in the aforementioned June $400/$366.67 bear put spread.
These are some truly massive spreads and could be a part of a larger strategy.
Disney (DIS)
Disney (NYSE:DIS) did not have many notable options trades this week, but a few really stood out. That’s as someone sold $28.8 million worth of the January 2024 $160 puts. On its own, this position is a bullish bet and was deep-in-the-money, with Disney stock trading near $95 at the time of the trade.
That said, it does not appear to be on its own. At the same time of that trade, a trader sold $4.275 million of the April $115 puts and $2.8 million of the April $110 puts. Taken together and with nothing to offset these positions, this is a bullish bet.
Alphabet (GOOGL)
There was not a lot of bearish options activity in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG) this week, but most of the bearish flow that we did see centered around selling the $100 to $110 calls and buying the $100 puts, both in varying expirations.
However, the most notable flow came on the bull side and specifically, on March 29. That’s after someone sold $8.8 million of the June $155 puts, then $5.3 million worth of the $130 puts of the same expiration.
A few hours later, they sold another $8.8 million worth of the June $155 puts.
Amazon (AMZN)
Tech stocks got a lot of bullish action this week, but Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) really saw some heavy options flow. I’m surprised Amazon is not higher on the list, given the unusual options activity on March 29. That said, it’s rather complex.
In an effort to keep it simple, the first action was in the January 2024 puts. That’s as this trader or firm sold more than $30 million of various puts, including the $147.50, $159.50, $155 and $170 strikes.
However, the real action took place in the June expiration. Large options trades began accumulating between all sorts of June puts. Multiple $20 million to $30 million traders were firing off, likely interweaving into multiple different spreads and combining into nine-figure traders -- which are truly massive.
A day later, on the 30th, the June puts were active again. This time it was with a bullish undertone, although it’s hard to trust that observation given the significant activity in these strikes in the prior session.
Silvergate (SI)
Silvergate (NYSE:SI) is an unusual name for this list, particularly given the fact that the company said it would wind down its operations.
Interestingly, someone sold $10.6 million worth of the $12.50 puts. However, it’s not clear if that trade was opening or closing, as the open interest still suggests there is a large position in this strike.
Alibaba (BABA)
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) has been trading much better lately, up almost 17% in the last week of March. As a result, the options activity has largely favored the bulls, especially with several near-the-money call bets expiring in May and June taking place in the $1 million to $2 million range.
More specifically though, someone bought $5.6 million of the deep-in-the-money $50 calls expiring in January 2024. On its own, this is a stock-replacement trade and is a bullish bet.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Up 87.4% in the first quarter, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was the best-performing US stock with a market cap in excess of $500 million. Despite that, there was mixed options activity on March 30 and 31.
However, on March 28, there was some rather notable bullish action. That’s as someone sold $1.9 million of the at-the-money May $265 puts. A few hours later, another big put sale went through, this time for $8.85 million of the January 2024 out-of-the-money $230 puts.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Not typically known for its unusual options activity, drug maker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) finds itself on the list after two big put sales took place on March 29.
That’s as someone sold $2.22 million of the June $185 puts and $2.72 million of the June $175 puts. Both of these trades were deep-in-the-money with J&J shares trading near $153 at the time of the trade.
Block (SQ)
Formerly known as Square, Block (NYSE:SQ) was of interest this week after a bearish report from Hindenburg Research crushed the stock on March 23rd. After a decent rebound and amid some bullish activity, the options flow tipped bearish on March 30.
That’s as someone sold $1.95 million of the May $50 calls, which were deep-in-the-money with shares trading near $68 at the time. Around the same time, another trade went off after someone sold $912,500 of the April $50 calls.
Earlier in the day, another trader sold more than $774,000 of the April $70 calls. Lastly, two days earlier on March 28th, a trader bought almost $2 million of the January at-the-money $67.50 puts.
Spotify (SPOT)
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) doesn't do too much volume in the options world, so when there's a large trade, it usually stands out.
On March 27, a trader or firm bought $2.489 million of the January 2024 $90 calls, along with $2.95 million of the $120 calls. Both trades were in-the-money, with Spotify stock trading near $130 at the time of the trade. Both contracts also expire in January 2024.
Article by Bret Kenwell, Fintel
