Shares of Broadcom closed at $322.16 on Friday, down 4.11%. Earlier reports said Microsoft, Meta Platforms and OpenAI are working with chip designers including Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Nvidia to develop a protocol-agnostic scale-up interconnect technology designed for artificial intelligence clusters.
Options Indicators Analysis
1. Implied Volatility and Market Sentiment
Broadcom’s options currently show an implied volatility (IV) of 52.67%, with an IV percentile of 60.16%, placing it in the mid-to-upper range of its historical distribution. This suggests options prices reflect elevated concerns about future volatility, though not at levels typically associated with extreme market stress.
Meanwhile, put option volume slightly exceeds call volume, with a put/call volume ratio of 1.18, indicating rising demand for hedging or short-term downside protection among traders.
2. Open Interest Positioning Shows a Mildly Bullish Tilt
Among options expiring this Friday (March 20, 2026), total call open interest (210,223 contracts) is slightly below put open interest (230,230 contracts), producing a put/call OI ratio of 1.1.
One notable concentration appears at the $400 call strike, which holds the largest open interest at 16,976 contracts. That level sits about 24% above Friday’s closing price of $322.
Options pricing implies roughly a 5% expected move for Broadcom this week, suggesting a 68% probability that the stock trades between $303.34 and $338.76. The $400 strike lies well outside that implied range, suggesting some investors may be selling $400 calls on the view that the stock is unlikely to reach that level this week.
On the downside, the $240 put strike also carries substantial open interest (16,837 contracts). Like the $400 call, this strike sits far from the implied volatility range, suggesting the possibility that investors are selling deep out-of-the-money puts as part of a premium-collection strategy.
3. Block Trades Reveal the Core Institutional Strategy: Selling Volatility While Hedging Tail Risk
The most noteworthy signals come from large institutional options trades, which reveal a relatively clear strategy framework.
Buying long-dated “disaster insurance.”
Large buy orders appeared in $280 puts expiring in April, June and July, with total trading volume reaching around 5,000 contracts. These positions effectively act as low-cost tail-risk hedges for investors holding substantial equity positions, protecting portfolios against potential unforeseen negative catalysts.
Cautious on medium-term upside.
At the same time, institutions were seen selling June $370 calls, with transaction value around $335,000. This positioning suggests skepticism that Broadcom shares will rise above $370 within the next three months—roughly 15% above the current price. Selling calls allows traders to collect premium while expressing a moderately bearish or capped-upside view.
Source: Tiger Trade App
Outlook and Strategy Considerations
Following the recent pullback, large investors do not appear to be expecting either an immediate V-shaped rebound or a sharp collapse. Instead, they appear to be taking advantage of elevated options premiums, selling deep out-of-the-money options to harvest time decay while simultaneously using spreads and long-dated puts to manage tail risk.
For investors who share the view that a sharp near-term selloff is unlikely, one potential strategy may involve selling deep out-of-the-money short-dated puts—for example strikes below $300—to collect premium.
Those seeking to limit margin exposure may consider put spread structures, such as buying a lower-strike put while selling an even lower-strike put. Such strategies allow traders to short volatility while defining maximum downside risk.