AST SpaceMobile, Inc. closed at USD 59.18, a decrease of 4.47%.
Options activity painted a mixed picture, with total bullish premium of $0.68 million edging out $0.38 million in bearish flow. However, featured large trades revealed substantial short call combinations at the $67 and $70 strikes for July 2026, signaling that some traders are actively capping upside expectations and collecting premium rather than chasing a breakout.
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Options Indicators
ASTS has an implied volatility of 117.30%, and with an IV percentile of 75.30%, current option volatility sits in an elevated zone, indicating that options are priced expensively relative to their own recent history. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 0.96 suggests implied volatility is roughly in line with realized volatility, so while premiums are rich on a percentile basis, they are not dramatically overstated versus the stock’s actual recent movement. The Call/Put volume ratio is 2.77.
Large Trades
A same-direction double call sale worth $0.05 million was one of the featured trades, structured as a premium-collecting short call combination tied to the July 24, 2026 expiration. In this trade, 3,134 contracts of the 67.0 call were sold and another 2,842 contracts of the same 67.0 call were also sold, for a combined transaction value of $0.05 million. With ASTS referenced at $59.18, the 67.0 strike was out of the money at the time, which makes this a neutral-to-bearish income strategy that benefits if the stock remains below the strike or fails to rally meaningfully. The use of short out-of-the-money calls indicates an effort to collect premium rather than express aggressive upside conviction, and it points to an expectation of consolidation or capped upside into expiration.
A single-leg short call worth $0.02 million was the other highlighted trade, involving the sale of 5,167 contracts of the 70.0 call expiring on July 24, 2026. With the underlying at $59.18, this strike was also out of the money, reinforcing the bearish-leaning nature of the position. By selling upside exposure at a strike above the market, the trader appears to be taking in premium while betting that ASTS will stay below $70.0 through expiration or at least not advance enough to make the short call position uncomfortable. Strategically, this is another premium-collection trade with a cautious-to-bearish directional message rather than a bullish breakout view.
Overall sentiment across all large trades still leans bullish, with total bullish flow at $0.68 million versus total bearish flow at $0.38 million, leaving a net difference of $0.30 million in favor of bulls. The directional judgment is therefore moderately bullish, but the tone is mixed rather than overwhelmingly positive. That is because the strongest bullish contribution came from a large outright call purchase, while the bearish side was driven by call-selling structures and a bear call spread that suggest some traders are actively fading upside or looking to monetize elevated premium. In short, the aggregate flow favors upside, but the featured large trades show a meaningful pocket of skepticism toward near-term upside follow-through.
Strategy Reference
Traders sharing the cautious view but seeking lower margin requirements than naked short calls might consider a bear call spread, such as selling the $67.0 call and buying a higher-strike call in the same July 2026 expiration, to define risk while still capitalizing on the elevated IV percentile.