Option Focus | SPCX's $5.48 Million Short Call at $175 and $2.30 Million Put Buy at $115 Signal Institutional Bearish Hedging

Option Witch
4 hours ago

SpaceX closed at $140.71, down 1.07%.

Large options trades in SPCX indicated a bearish institutional stance during the session. The most prominent flow was a $5.48 million short call block at the $175 strike, combined with a $2.30 million put purchase at the $115 strike. These offsetting long-dated blocks suggest traders are actively capping upside while buying downside protection, reflecting a cautious to defensive positioning pattern rather than expectation of a sharp breakout.

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Options Indicators

SPCX’s implied volatility stands at 53.40%, and with an IV percentile of 74.53%, current option volatility is in the elevated range, indicating options are priced relatively expensively versus their own recent history. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 0.73 shows implied volatility is running below realized volatility, suggesting the market’s forward pricing is not especially aggressive despite the high percentile reading, but overall the options surface still leans toward richer premium conditions rather than cheap pricing. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.46.

Large Trades

A call sale worth $5.48 million was the largest displayed block, with 2,500 contracts sold at the 175.0 strike expiring on 2027-09-17. With SPCX referenced at 140.71, this call was out of the money, making it a clearly bearish to capped-bullish income trade. The seller appears to be expressing the view that upside will remain limited below 175.0 over this long-dated horizon, while collecting premium rather than paying for directional exposure. As a single-leg short call, it points to either outright bearish positioning or a willingness to monetize elevated upside expectations.

A put purchase worth $2.30 million was the other key displayed block, involving 2,500 contracts bought at the 115.0 strike expiring on 2027-03-19. With the stock above that strike at 140.71, the put was out of the money, so this trade represents a bearish downside bet or portfolio hedge aimed at protecting against a meaningful decline over time. The buyer paid premium for convex downside exposure, signaling concern that SPCX could weaken materially enough for the 115.0 strike to become relevant before expiration. Overall, the large-trade flow leans bearish: the biggest prints were a sizable upside call sale and a substantial downside put purchase, and the broader block activity also favors negative positioning, suggesting institutional traders are more focused on limiting upside and securing protection against downside than on chasing a bullish breakout.

Strategy Reference

For traders seeking low assignment probability on the short call side, a seller could consider strikes at or above 175.0, as the elevated IV percentile implies richer premium; alternatively, a bear put spread such as buying the 140.0 put and selling the 115.0 put may reduce margin requirements while maintaining downside exposure.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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