NVIDIA's options speculation is outrageous! Someone is betting that the stock price will double this week

Wallstreetcn
2024.03.19 21:11
portai
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As of the Tuesday's closing of the US stock market, there are over 37,000 open contracts for NVIDIA call options expiring this Friday with a strike price of $1940. NVIDIA is becoming a casino for YOLO traders

NVIDIA is becoming a crazy speculative playground for YOLO traders.

From NVIDIA's options trading on Monday, it can be seen that some traders are betting that its stock price will more than double by the end of this week. Although people have been accustomed to NVIDIA's soaring since the AI boom last year, achieving a doubling in less than a week for its massive market capitalization of $2.2 trillion is considered crazy and unbelievable.

Specifically, as of the close of the U.S. stock market on Tuesday, there are over 37,000 open contracts for NVIDIA call options expiring this Friday with a strike price of $1940. Reports indicate that these contracts were purchased in small batches of around 900 contracts each, suggesting they may have been bought by retail investors, totaling approximately $37,000.

Although compared to options trading betting on single-digit percentage price movements for NVIDIA, this $1940 strike price trade may seem insignificant, it does highlight the market's frenzy.

It should be noted that while NVIDIA's stock price is unlikely to come close to the $1940 strike price, theoretically, if NVIDIA makes significant moves during this week's GTC conference to drive the stock price up, the traders of these options can profit by selling the contracts. For example, if the price goes from 1 cent to 2 cents, this trade would double.

Chris Murphy, Co-Head of Stock Derivatives Strategy at Susquehanna International Group, stated that this trade may be a form of tail risk hedging. In theory, traders may have operated in this way: shorting call options with lower strike prices for NVIDIA, which are closer to the strike price, while offsetting with call options positions at higher and harder-to-reach prices.

On Monday, NVIDIA closed up 0.7%, with an intraday high of 5.2%. On Tuesday, after an initial 4% drop, NVIDIA closed up 1%. NVIDIA closed at $893.98 on Tuesday