Meta Platforms Sees $590 Million in Deep In-the-Money Call Activity Across Seven Contracts
By TrendSpider Editor
Meta Platforms (META) is drawing significant attention in the options market today after seven unusual call contracts totaling $589,922,000 in premium crossed the tape, all deep in the money with $5 strikes spanning expirations from November 2026 through January 2028. The stock is trading at $668.98
Meta Platforms Sees $590 Million in Deep In-the-Money Call Activity Across Seven Contracts
Meta Platforms (META) is drawing significant attention in the options market today after seven unusual call contracts totaling $589,922,000 in premium crossed the tape, all deep in the money with $5 strikes spanning expirations from November 2026 through January 2028. The stock is trading at $668.98 on Friday, September 18, 2026, down 1.95% on the session, but still well within its 52-week range of $520.26 to $790.80. The sheer size and structure of these trades suggest institutional positioning rather than speculative retail activity.
Key Drivers of the META Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Seven deep in-the-money call contracts with a $5 strike price were flagged as unusual today, spanning expirations from November 20, 2026 to January 21, 2028, generating a combined premium of $589,922,000. The largest single contract was a December 17, 2027 call with a size of 3,500 and an open interest ratio of 48%, generating $233,380,000 in premium alone.
- Bull Case: All seven contracts are deep in the money calls at a $5 strike with META trading near $669, meaning these positions carry substantial intrinsic value. The December 18, 2026 contract alone posted a size of 1,750 contracts at $116,506,250 in premium. Open interest ratios hovering between 48% and 51% across all seven contracts indicate meaningful new positioning relative to existing open interest, pointing to fresh institutional conviction in continued upside.
- Bear Case: Despite the bullish structure of the options flow, META shares are down 1.95% today and remain approximately $121.82 below their 52-week high of $790.80. Deep in-the-money calls at a $5 strike can also be used as stock equivalents in complex hedging or synthetic strategies, meaning the directional intent is not guaranteed to be purely long.
The forward setup for Meta remains closely tied to its AI infrastructure buildout and advertising revenue momentum. Institutional players locking in long exposure through January 2028 calls suggests multi-quarter confidence in the name. With the stock sitting closer to the middle of its 52-week range than its highs, there may be room for price recovery if the broader market stabilizes. The spread of expirations across six distinct dates, from November 2026 through January 2028, is consistent with a systematic accumulation strategy rather than a one-off speculative bet, reinforcing the view that a large player is building or rolling a long position in META with a multi-year time horizon.
META Unusual Options Activity
All seven flagged contracts today are calls with a $5 strike, all currently deep in the money with META near $669. Below is a breakdown of each:
- Contract 1: Call, $5 strike, expires November 20, 2026 | Size: 650 | OI%: 48% | ITM | Premium: $43,338,750
- Contract 2: Call, $5 strike, expires December 18, 2026 | Size: 1,750 | OI%: 49% | ITM | Premium: $116,506,250
- Contract 3: Call, $5 strike, expires March 19, 2027 | Size: 700 | OI%: 48% | ITM | Premium: $46,627,000
- Contract 4: Call, $5 strike, expires June 17, 2027 | Size: 600 | OI%: 49% | ITM | Premium: $39,999,000
- Contract 5: Call, $5 strike, expires September 17, 2027 | Size: 850 | OI%: 51% | ITM | Premium: $56,695,000
- Contract 6: Call, $5 strike, expires December 17, 2027 | Size: 3,500 | OI%: 48% | ITM | Premium: $233,380,000
- Contract 7: Call, $5 strike, expires January 21, 2028 | Size: 800 | OI%: 49% | ITM | Premium: $53,376,000
Total premium across all seven contracts: $589,922,000. The December 2027 contract is the dominant position by both size and premium, accounting for the majority of today's unusual options flow in META.
META Seasonality
September has historically been a softer month for technology equities, which may partially explain today's session-level pressure on META shares. Institutional actors layering in deep in-the-money calls through this period could be taking advantage of any seasonal weakness to establish long exposure ahead of what is typically a stronger fourth-quarter setup for large-cap tech.
META Relative Performance
META is down 1.95% today at $668.98, trading roughly 15.4% below its 52-week high of $790.80 and approximately 28.6% above its 52-week low of $520.26. The stock sits in the lower half of its annual range, underperforming its peak-year levels while maintaining a substantial buffer above its trough, a position that institutional options buyers appear to view as an opportunity given the scale and structure of today's flow.
More on META
- Meta Platforms Surges 5.35% to $646.33, Posting One of Its Biggest Single-Day Gains of the Year
- Meta Platforms Sees $13.7M in Unusual Options Activity Led by Massive Bullish Call Sweep
- Meta Platforms Drifts Near 52-Week Lows as Selling Pressure Keeps Bears in Control
- Meta Platforms Drifts Near 52-Week Low as Shares Hover Around $543
- Meta Platforms Surges 6.48% as Stock Posts One of Its Biggest Single-Day Gains
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