NVDA Stock: Unusual Options Activity Flags Both Near-Term Caution and Long-Term Downside Hedge

By TrendSpider Editor

Two unusual options contracts on NVIDIA Corporation have surfaced today, drawing attention to diverging sentiment around the stock as shares trade at $174.55, down 2.31% on the session. The more striking of the two is a deep out-of-the-money PUT expiring in June 2028, carrying a premium of $2,865,00

NVDA Stock: Unusual Options Activity Flags Both Near-Term Caution and Long-Term Downside Hedge

Two unusual options contracts on NVIDIA Corporation have surfaced today, drawing attention to diverging sentiment around the stock as shares trade at $174.55, down 2.31% on the session. The more striking of the two is a deep out-of-the-money PUT expiring in June 2028, carrying a premium of $2,865,000 and representing 1,000% of open interest. With NVDA currently sitting in the upper half of its 52-week range of $86.63 to $212.19, the size and duration of these trades suggest at least one large player is positioning for significant downside over the next two-plus years.

Key Drivers of the NVDA Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Two unusual options contracts were flagged on NVDA today, totaling $2,961,669 in combined premium. A CALL at the $180 strike expiring tomorrow, March 27, 2026, printed 7,005 contracts at 8% of open interest, while a PUT at the $130 strike expiring June 2028 printed 1,500 contracts at a remarkable 1,000% of open interest.
• Bull Case: The $180 CALL expiring tomorrow reflects near-term bullish speculation that NVDA could push above $180 within 24 hours, a roughly 3% move from the current price of $174.55. The contract's 7,005-lot size suggests conviction behind the short-dated bet.
• Bear Case: The $130 PUT expiring June 2028 is the dominant flow by premium at $2,865,000, targeting a price level roughly 25% below today's close and more than 50% below the 52-week high of $212.19. The 1,000% OI ratio signals this is not a routine hedge but a high-conviction, large-scale directional bet on long-term downside.

Today's unusual options flow arrives as NVDA is already under modest selling pressure, declining 2.31% on the session. The divergence between a bullish one-day CALL and a heavily weighted two-year bearish PUT encapsulates the broader tension in the market around NVIDIA right now. Bulls see near-term momentum opportunities given the stock's position well above its 52-week low of $86.63, while bears appear to be constructing longer-duration hedges or outright short positions at scale. The sheer premium dominance of the June 2028 PUT, accounting for the vast majority of the $2,961,669 total premium, suggests the smart money concern here leans more toward the downside over the longer horizon than any single-session bounce.

NVDA Unusual Options Activity

• Contract 1: CALL | Strike: $180 | Expiry: March 27, 2026 | Volume: 7,005 | Open Interest: 8% | Status: OTM | Premium: $96,669
• Contract 2: PUT | Strike: $130 | Expiry: June 16, 2028 | Volume: 1,500 | Open Interest: 1,000% | Status: OTM | Premium: $2,865,000

NVDA Seasonality

Late March has historically been a transitional period for semiconductor stocks, with quarter-end portfolio rebalancing often introducing short-term volatility. The presence of a next-day expiry CALL suggests some traders are positioning for a potential end-of-quarter momentum push heading into the close of Q1 2026.

NVDA Relative Performance

NVDA's 2.31% decline today puts it under pressure relative to its recent trading range, with the stock at $174.55 sitting meaningfully below its 52-week high of $212.19 but well above its 52-week low of $86.63. The stock has recovered substantially from its lows but has yet to reclaim peak levels, and today's session weakness adds friction to any near-term recovery narrative heading into the final days of the first quarter of 2026.