SNOW Stock: Unusual Put Activity Signals Bearish Positioning Ahead of Key Expiry
By TrendSpider Editor
Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) is drawing attention from options traders today after two unusual put contracts totaling $13,797,200 in combined premium landed on the tape, both deep in the money and set to expire in just three days on March 20, 2026. The stock is currently trading at $174.95, up a modest 0.3
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Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) is drawing attention from options traders today after two unusual put contracts totaling $13,797,200 in combined premium landed on the tape, both deep in the money and set to expire in just three days on March 20, 2026. The stock is currently trading at $174.95, up a modest 0.34% on the session, but the aggressive put positioning at strikes of $210 and $220 suggests at least some institutional players are hedging or betting on near-term downside. With SNOW sitting well below its 52-week high of $280.67 and above its 52-week low of $120.10, today's options flow adds a layer of caution to an already wide-ranging technical picture.
Key Drivers of the SNOW Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Two unusual put contracts hit the tape today. A PUT at the $210 strike expiring March 20, 2026 saw volume of 670 contracts with an open interest ratio of 56% and $2,359,070 in premium. A second PUT at the $220 strike, same expiry, saw significantly heavier volume of 2,530 contracts with an open interest ratio of 160% and $11,438,130 in premium. Both contracts are currently in the money relative to the $174.95 share price, and combined they represent $13,797,200 in total premium spent.
- Bull Case: The stock's 0.34% gain today shows the broader market is not reacting negatively to the options flow in real time. With SNOW still trading more than $54 above its 52-week low of $120.10, the underlying price structure has not broken down, and the put activity could simply reflect institutional hedging of existing long positions rather than a directional short bet.
- Bear Case: The $220 strike put has an open interest ratio of 160%, meaning today's volume exceeded existing open interest by 60%, a hallmark of fresh, aggressive positioning. At $11,438,130 in premium alone, this is not a small hedge. With both contracts expiring on March 20, 2026, and SNOW trading at $174.95, both puts are already in the money, reflecting a stock that remains roughly 38% below its 52-week high of $280.67.
The forward setup for SNOW is complicated by the extremely short duration of these contracts. Both puts expire this Friday, March 20, 2026, meaning whoever placed these trades expects resolution within the next three sessions. The size of the $220 strike trade in particular, with its 160% open interest ratio, points to a deliberate, well-funded move rather than routine flow. Traders watching SNOW should monitor whether additional unusual contracts surface in the coming sessions and whether the stock can hold current levels into the expiry window. The wide spread between the 52-week low of $120.10 and the 52-week high of $280.67 underscores how much ground SNOW has already given back, making the current $174.95 price level a meaningful battleground heading into the back half of March.
SNOW Unusual Options Activity
Two unusual put contracts were flagged today, both expiring on March 20, 2026:
- Put, $210 Strike, Expiry March 20, 2026: Volume of 670 contracts, open interest ratio of 56%, in the money, premium of $2,359,070.
- Put, $220 Strike, Expiry March 20, 2026: Volume of 2,530 contracts, open interest ratio of 160%, in the money, premium of $11,438,130.
Total premium across both unusual contracts came to $13,797,200. Both contracts are in the money against the current share price of $174.95. The $220 strike contract's 160% open interest ratio is the more aggressive of the two, indicating that new positions were opened well in excess of prior open interest, a signal often associated with institutional conviction rather than routine hedging. With zero unusual call contracts flagged today, the directional skew of this activity is entirely to the downside.
SNOW Seasonality
Mid-March has historically been an active period for portfolio rebalancing and options expiry positioning ahead of the quarterly options cycle, with the March 20 expiry representing a standard monthly expiration date that often attracts elevated volume in high-beta names like SNOW. Traders should note that volatility around options expiry dates in large-cap tech stocks can compress or expand rapidly depending on whether pinning behavior emerges near key strikes.
SNOW Relative Performance
SNOW is up 0.34% today, trading at $174.95. Within the context of its own 52-week range of $120.10 to $280.67, the stock is currently positioned closer to the lower half of that range, sitting roughly 45% below its 52-week high. The muted intraday gain offers little in the way of technical momentum to counter the bearish signal from today's options flow, and the stock's position well off its annual high suggests the broader trend has favored sellers over the past several months.