NVDA Options Traders Make Bold Moves With a $687K Call Bet and a $370K Downside Hedge

By TrendSpider Editor

Unusual options activity surfaced in NVIDIA Corporation on Wednesday, with two notable contracts totaling $1,056,065 in combined premium drawing attention from traders. The larger of the two was a call sweep targeting the $225 strike expiring in October, suggesting at least one large player is posit

NVDA Options Traders Make Bold Moves With a $687K Call Bet and a $370K Downside Hedge

Unusual options activity surfaced in NVIDIA Corporation on Wednesday, with two notable contracts totaling $1,056,065 in combined premium drawing attention from traders. The larger of the two was a call sweep targeting the $225 strike expiring in October, suggesting at least one large player is positioning for a meaningful rally above current levels. NVDA shares are trading at $200.92, up 0.46% on the session, and sit well within their 52-week range of $142.03 to $236.54.

Key Drivers of the NVDA Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Two unusual options contracts were flagged today. A call at the $225 strike expiring October 16, 2026 printed 657 contracts with $686,565 in premium and represents 13% of open interest. A put at the $160 strike expiring January 15, 2027 printed 500 contracts with $369,500 in premium at just 2% of open interest. Both contracts are out of the money.
• Bull Case: The call contract carries nearly twice the premium of the put, and the $225 strike implies roughly 12% upside from the current price of $200.92. The October expiry gives the trade less than four months to play out, signaling a degree of near-term conviction from the buyer.
• Bear Case: The $160 put, while smaller in premium at $369,500, targets a price roughly 20% below current levels and carries a January 2027 expiration, leaving room for a prolonged hedge or speculative downside bet. The put's open interest reading of just 2% means the position is a relatively new addition to the options chain, which could signal fresh bearish interest rather than a routine roll.

Together, these two trades reflect a split picture: a near-term bull betting on a push toward the top of NVDA's 52-week range, and a longer-dated bear building downside protection well below the current price. NVDA's 52-week high of $236.54 remains above the $225 call strike, meaning the trade is not asking the stock to set new highs, just to recover toward levels already visited in the past year. The broader backdrop for NVIDIA continues to center on artificial intelligence infrastructure demand, data center spending cycles, and the competitive landscape in GPU markets, all of which remain key variables for whether the call buyer's October thesis plays out.

NVDA Unusual Options Activity

• Contract 1: CALL | Strike: $225 | Expiry: October 16, 2026 | Volume: 657 | Open Interest: 13% | Out of the Money | Premium: $686,565
• Contract 2: PUT | Strike: $160 | Expiry: January 15, 2027 | Volume: 500 | Open Interest: 2% | Out of the Money | Premium: $369,500

Total premium across both flagged contracts: $1,056,065. The flow skews bullish by premium weighting, with calls accounting for approximately 65% of total spend.

NVDA Seasonality

Late June has historically marked the tail end of the second quarter, a period when semiconductor stocks can see elevated volatility as institutions rebalance ahead of quarter-end. The October call expiry aligns with a window that historically captures NVIDIA's fiscal third-quarter earnings catalyst, which could be the event the call buyer is positioning around.

NVDA Relative Performance

NVDA is up 0.46% on Wednesday and is trading at $200.92, placing it roughly 41% above its 52-week low of $142.03 and approximately 15% below its 52-week high of $236.54. The stock's position in the middle-to-upper portion of its annual range suggests it has recovered meaningfully from its lows but has not yet reclaimed peak levels, leaving room for the $225 call thesis to develop if broader market and sector conditions remain supportive.