NVIDIA closed at 228.87 USD, rising 0.66%.
NVIDIA attracted outsized institutional options flow, highlighted by a $4.69 million long-dated put purchase and a $1.50 million net-credit bear call spread. The trades point toward defensive positioning and capped-upside expectations rather than bullish chasing, with premium relatively subdued versus the stock’s recent volatility profile.
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Options Indicators
NVIDIA currently has an implied volatility of 36.68%, while its IV percentile is just 4.78%, which indicates volatility is sitting on the low side and options are cheaply priced relative to their own recent history. With an IV/HV ratio of 0.82, implied volatility is also running below historical volatility, suggesting the current option premium is relatively subdued rather than aggressively priced for future movement.
The Call/Put volume ratio is 2.30.
Large Trades
A put purchase worth $4.69 million stood out as one of the day’s largest directional trades, with 2,000 contracts bought on the January 19, 2029 $185.00 put. With NVIDIA referenced at $228.87, this strike is out of the money, so the buyer is paying premium for downside protection or a longer-dated bearish view rather than intrinsic value. The long tenor suggests the trader may be positioning for a meaningful drawdown over time or establishing portfolio insurance against a broader reset in the stock.
A bearish call spread collecting a net credit of $1.50 million was the other highlighted large trade, built by selling 1,500 November 20, 2026 $220.00 calls and buying 1,500 November 20, 2026 $240.00 calls. The short $220.00 call is in the money versus the current stock reference, while the long $240.00 call is out of the money, creating a defined-risk bear call spread. Structurally, this is a premium-collection strategy that also expresses a bearish-to-capped view, indicating the trader expects upside to remain limited and is willing to monetize that expectation while hedging against a larger breakout above $240.00. Overall, the bulk-order flow points clearly bearish: the most prominent trades were either direct downside bets or call-overwriting structures that benefit from restrained upside, and the broader large-trade mix shows institutional positioning skewed toward protection, capped-upside income, and defensive bearish exposure rather than aggressive upside chasing.
Strategy Reference
For a low-assignment-probability bearish income trade, a seller could target the July 18, 2025 $250.00 call, which sits roughly 9.23% above the close and offers meaningful premium without adopting the aggressive short-$220.00 exposure seen in the large bear call spread.