AMZN Stock: Unusual Put Activity Flags Bearish Bet as Shares Trade Near Midpoint of 52-Week Range

April 1, 2026

By TrendSpider Editor

AMZN Stock: Unusual Put Activity Flags Bearish Bet as Shares Trade Near Midpoint of 52-Week Range

Two notable put contracts on Amazon.com, Inc. have surfaced today, combining for a total premium of $12,192,000 and drawing attention to downside positioning ahead of the April 17 expiration. AMZN is currently trading at $210.48, up 1.04% on the session, yet both contracts carry a $240 strike, placing them firmly in-the-money relative to the current price. With a 52-week range spanning $161.43 to $258.60, shares are sitting roughly near the midpoint, giving the options activity added significance as traders weigh whether the recent bounce has run its course.

Key Drivers of the AMZN Stock Move

Main Catalyst: Two unusual put contracts, both targeting the $240 strike with an April 17, 2026 expiration, were flagged today. The first block printed with a size of 3,200 contracts and an open interest percentage of 784%. The second printed at 800 contracts with an open interest percentage of 196%. Combined, these two trades represent $12,192,000 in total premium, a meaningful commitment to downside exposure in a short window of roughly two weeks.
Bull Case: AMZN shares are up 1.04% today at $210.48, suggesting near-term buying pressure on the equity side. The $240 put strike is approximately 14% above the current price, meaning these contracts could represent hedging activity by large holders protecting long positions rather than outright directional bets against the stock. The 52-week high of $258.60 also demonstrates the market's prior willingness to price AMZN considerably higher.
Bear Case: The sheer scale of the open interest percentage readings, 784% and 196% respectively, indicates that these prints are dramatically outsized relative to existing open interest, a classic signal of unusual and deliberate positioning. Both contracts are in-the-money with the strike set at $240 against the current price of $210.48, meaning buyers of these puts are already sitting on intrinsic value. The two-week expiration adds urgency, suggesting whoever placed these trades expects meaningful downward movement, or at minimum elevated volatility, before April 17.

The forward setup for AMZN into mid-April warrants close attention. The concentration of put premium at the $240 strike with a hard expiration deadline of April 17 creates a clear event horizon for traders to monitor. Whether this activity reflects institutional hedging of long equity exposure or an outright directional bet, the positioning is too large to dismiss. Amazon operates across cloud computing, e-commerce, advertising, and logistics, and any macro headwind or company-specific development in the next two weeks could act as a catalyst that brings these contracts further into play. Traders should watch price action relative to the $210 level closely, as a breakdown from current levels would increase the delta exposure on both put blocks significantly.

AMZN Unusual Options Activity

Two unusual put contracts were identified on AMZN today, both sharing the same strike and expiration:

Contract 1: PUT | Strike: $240 | Expiry: April 17, 2026 | Volume: 3,200 | Open Interest: 784% | Status: In-the-Money
Contract 2: PUT | Strike: $240 | Expiry: April 17, 2026 | Volume: 800 | Open Interest: 196% | Status: In-the-Money

The combined total premium across both contracts is $12,192,000. The dominant contract accounts for $9,760,000 of that total, while the secondary block represents $2,432,000. The 784% open interest reading on the larger print is particularly striking, as it dwarfs the existing open interest at that strike by nearly eight times, a strong indicator of fresh, deliberate positioning rather than routine activity.

AMZN Seasonality

April has historically been an active month for AMZN given the proximity to the company's first-quarter earnings release, which typically falls in late April or early May. Options positioning ahead of that reporting window often intensifies in the first two weeks of April, which aligns directly with the April 17 expiration date on both flagged contracts.

AMZN Relative Performance

AMZN is posting a gain of 1.04% today, trading at $210.48. The stock remains well off its 52-week high of $258.60, representing a gap of roughly 18.5% from that peak, while holding a comfortable cushion above the 52-week low of $161.43. The current price places AMZN in the lower half of its annual range, which adds context to why large in-the-money put exposure at $240 could reflect either hedging by holders who accumulated at higher levels or conviction that a retest of lower range support remains a possibility.