Alphabet closed at $353.47, down 0.88%.

A wave of bullish options activity swept through GOOG, highlighted by a massive $4.22 million net-debit call ratio spread. This sophisticated trade, targeting a move toward $410, was accompanied by a separate $0.52 million outright long call purchase, underscoring strong institutional conviction for upside into September 2026.

>>>Unlock Earnings Insights & Commission-Free Trading Benefits!

Options Indicators

GOOG’s implied volatility is 31.10%, and with an IV percentile of 14.74%, current volatility sits on the low side of its recent range, indicating that options are relatively cheaply priced. The IV/HV ratio of 0.62 further suggests implied volatility is running below historical realized volatility, reinforcing the view that current option premiums are not especially rich. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.92.

Large Trades

A call combination with a net premium of negative $4.22 million was the largest highlighted trade, structured as a 3-leg call spread using two long 350.0 calls and three short 410.0 calls expiring on 2026-09-18. With the 350.0 calls in-the-money versus the $353.47 reference stock price and the 410.0 calls out-of-the-money, this position reflects a bullish call ratio-style structure designed to gain directional upside exposure while partially offsetting the cost through short higher-strike calls. Because the premiums paid for the long call legs exceeded the premium collected from the short call leg, the trader entered the strategy for a net debit of $4.22 million, indicating willingness to spend meaningful premium for upside participation into September 2026, while also capping or moderating some of that upside beyond 410.0 in exchange for lower entry cost.

A CALL buy worth $0.52 million was the other displayed large trade, consisting of 2,088 contracts of the 400.0 call expiring on 2026-09-18. With the strike above the current stock reference of $353.47, the option was out-of-the-money at execution, making this a straightforward bullish directional wager on GOOG appreciating materially over the coming year. As a single-leg long call purchase, the trade expresses upside conviction with defined risk limited to the premium paid, and it suggests the buyer is targeting a move through 400.0 by expiration or at least a rise in implied value before then.

Overall, the large-trade flow in GOOG was clearly bullish. The dominant activity was concentrated in long call exposure, including a sizable net-debit call combination and additional outright call buying, which points to traders seeking upside participation rather than downside protection. Even though there was some call selling embedded in the larger combination, the broader character of the flow shows investors leaning into higher prices over time, with September 2026 standing out as a key horizon for bullish positioning.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability, a seller could consider the 13% out-of-the-money $400.0 call strike, which aligns with the large bullish buyer’s target but would allow a premium collector to fade that level with a defined-risk spread.