Netflix closed at $80.14, down 0.10%.

Large options trades painted a decisively bearish picture, highlighted by a $17.10 million net-debit cross-expiration put ladder and a $1.80 million in-the-money put purchase. Total bullish flow reached just $0.14 million against $27.95 million in bearish flow, leaving a $27.81 million net bearish gap. Institutional traders concentrated heavily on paying premium for downside puts rather than selling premium or buying calls, signaling conviction that NFLX may remain under pressure across multiple maturities.

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Options Indicators

NFLX’s implied volatility is 34.69%, and with an IV percentile of 27.89%, current option volatility sits on the lower end of its recent range, suggesting options are relatively cheaply priced rather than expensive. The IV/HV ratio of 1.09 indicates implied volatility is only modestly above realized volatility, so premium levels appear fairly close to the stock’s actual recent movement rather than reflecting an extreme volatility premium. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.30.

Large Trades

A put-heavy calendar-style combination with a net debit of $17.10 million was the dominant large trade of the day. This 4-leg cross-expiration put structure consisted entirely of long puts, including September 2026 110, 116, and 100 strikes plus an August 2026 96 strike, and all legs were in the money versus the $80.14 reference stock price. Because the position was established for a net debit, it points to outright premium spending rather than income generation, and the strategic intent appears to be a strongly bearish directional bet combined with downside hedging across multiple maturities. The trader was effectively paying up for extended protection and leveraged downside exposure, signaling conviction that NFLX could remain under pressure over time rather than merely expressing a short-term tactical view.

A single-leg 85.00 put buy worth $1.80 million was the second highlighted block, involving 3,952 contracts expiring on 2026-08-21. With the strike already in the money relative to the $80.14 reference price, this was a straightforward bearish options purchase that offered immediate intrinsic value plus additional downside convexity if the stock weakens further. As a clean premium outlay on a long put, the trade suggests either direct downside speculation or protective hedging against an existing long equity position, but in either case it reinforces negative near-to-medium-term expectations for NFLX.

Overall sentiment in the bulk orders was clearly bearish, with total bullish flow at just $0.14 million versus $27.95 million in bearish flow, leaving a net bearish gap of $27.81 million. The conclusion is decisively negative: large traders overwhelmingly preferred paying premium for puts, and the biggest activity was concentrated in in-the-money downside structures rather than upside calls or premium-selling strategies. That pattern indicates institutional participants were focused on protection and bearish exposure, implying cautious to negative expectations for NFLX’s price path.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability with a defined-risk structure, a trader with a neutral-to-slightly-bearish view could consider selling a wide put credit spread such as the 65/60 put spread expiring within 30–45 days, collecting premium while capping margin below the high-cost outright put purchases seen in today’s flow.