Netflix Bears Load Up on Puts as NFLX Trades Near 52-Week Lows
By TrendSpider Editor
Unusual options activity in Netflix, Inc. is flashing a bearish signal today, with a dominant $1,111,972 put contract at the $70 strike drawing the most attention as NFLX trades at $71.36, dangerously close to its 52-week low of $65.095. Two unusual contracts totaling $1,150,764 in premium hit the t
Netflix Bears Load Up on Puts as NFLX Trades Near 52-Week Lows
Unusual options activity in Netflix, Inc. is flashing a bearish signal today, with a dominant $1,111,972 put contract at the $70 strike drawing the most attention as NFLX trades at $71.36, dangerously close to its 52-week low of $65.095. Two unusual contracts totaling $1,150,764 in premium hit the tape on Tuesday, suggesting smart money may be positioning for further downside. For context, NFLX has already shed significant ground from its 52-week high of $124.86, and today's modest +1.06% bounce has done little to change the technical picture.
Key Drivers of the NFLX Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Two unusual options contracts printed Tuesday, both on the put side, with a combined premium of $1,150,764. The headline trade is a $70 put expiring November 20, 2026, with a size of 3,476 contracts and open interest utilization of 15%. A second, smaller contract targeting the $120 strike expiring June 17, 2027 is deeply in the money and carries an open interest utilization of 400%, indicating aggressive positioning relative to existing open interest.
- Bull Case: NFLX is up 1.06% on the session and is holding above the $70 put strike that bears are targeting. If the stock continues to defend $70 through November 20, the put buyers will see their contracts expire worthless, and any meaningful recovery toward prior highs would render the longer-dated $120 put a losing trade as well.
- Bear Case: The $70 put at 3,476 contracts represents a substantial bet that Netflix falls below $70 within roughly five weeks. With the stock currently at $71.36 and the 52-week low sitting at $65.095, the put is only $1.36 out of the money, giving bears a very short distance to cover before the trade moves into profitable territory. The deeply in-the-money $120 put expiring June 2027 further reinforces the view that at least some institutional traders expect NFLX to remain well below prior highs for an extended period.
The forward setup for Netflix is precarious. The stock is trading in the lower quartile of its 52-week range, and today's options flow offers little encouragement for bulls. The near-term $70 put represents the more urgent signal, as a weekly close below that level could invite additional technical selling and validate the bearish thesis heading into the final months of 2026. Traders will want to monitor whether NFLX can sustain any upward momentum off current levels or whether today's +1.06% move fades back toward the strike zone before the November expiration.
NFLX Unusual Options Activity
Two unusual put contracts were flagged in Netflix on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, with no call activity detected. The full breakdown is as follows:
- Contract 1: Put | Strike: $70 | Expiry: November 20, 2026 | Volume (Size): 3,476 | Open Interest Utilization: 15% | Out of the Money | Premium: $1,111,972
- Contract 2: Put | Strike: $120 | Expiry: June 17, 2027 | Volume (Size): 8 | Open Interest Utilization: 400% | In the Money | Premium: $38,792
All unusual flow was on the put side, with zero calls flagged. Total unusual premium across both contracts came to $1,150,764, with the $70 November put accounting for the overwhelming majority of that activity at $1,111,972.
NFLX Seasonality
October and November have historically been pivotal months for Netflix as the company approaches the holiday quarter, a period that often brings heightened subscriber activity and earnings anticipation. However, with the stock pinned near multi-month lows and bearish options flow dominating the tape, any seasonal tailwind will need to overcome meaningful technical and sentiment headwinds in the near term.
NFLX Relative Performance
Netflix is currently trading at $71.36, representing a position that is approximately 43% below its 52-week high of $124.86 and only about 9.6% above its 52-week low of $65.095. Today's +1.06% gain is a modest recovery move, but it leaves NFLX firmly in the lower range of its annual trading band. The stock's proximity to its yearly low suggests it has meaningfully underperformed broader market benchmarks and large-cap technology peers that have not experienced drawdowns of comparable magnitude over the same trailing twelve-month window.
More on NFLX
- Netflix Put Options Draw $4.1M in Unusual Activity as NFLX Slides Near 52-Week Lows
- Netflix, Inc. Stock Slides 0.0% in Notable Trading Session
- Netflix, Inc. Stock Climbs 0.0% in Notable Trading Session
- Guggenheim Raises Netflix Price Target to $80 as Stock Trades Near 52-Week Low
- Netflix Stock Slides to Near 52-Week Low as Shares Fall 1.55% to $66.80
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