Option Focus | IREN's $3 Million Multi-Expiration Put Sale and $1.8 Million Call Sell Signal Bearish Premium Collection

Option Witch
Jul 23

IREN closed at 41.28 USD, down 0.02 percent.

Recent large options trades in IREN featured a significant premium-collection strategy, with a multi-million dollar, multi-expiration short put combination and a sizable out-of-the-money short call, signaling a market view that favors harvesting expensive volatility while capping upside potential.

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Options Indicators

IREN’s implied volatility is 139.76%, and with an IV percentile of 93.63%, current option volatility sits in a clearly elevated regime. That means options are priced expensively relative to their own recent history, and the IV/HV ratio of 1.22 further suggests implied volatility is running above realized volatility, reinforcing the view that premium levels are rich and that outright option purchases face a relatively high pricing hurdle. The Call/Put volume ratio is 0.69, indicating a higher trading volume in puts relative to calls on the day.

Large Trades

A $2.96 million calendar-style multi-expiration put combination was the largest displayed trade, consisting of four short put legs sold for a net credit: short 4,278 contracts of the July 31, 2026 $42.00 put, short 4,278 of the July 31, 2026 $40.00 put, short 4,278 of the July 24, 2026 $35.00 put, and short 4,278 of the July 24, 2026 $33.00 put. With IREN referenced at $41.28, the $42.00 put was in the money while the other three strikes were out of the money. Structurally, this is a premium-collection put spread across two expirations, suggesting the trader is willing to take downside exposure in exchange for collecting option premium, while also expressing a view that the stock will remain firm enough over both dates to keep the lower-strike short puts from coming under pressure.

A $1.84 million single-leg short call was the other standout trade, with 4,000 contracts sold in the September 18, 2026 $55.00 call. That strike sits out of the money versus the $41.28 stock reference, making this an upside cap sale that carries a moderately bearish to neutral interpretation. Strategically, selling this call points to expectations that IREN is unlikely to rally above $55.00 by expiration, or at least that the trader sees value in harvesting premium against that upside level rather than positioning for a breakout.

Overall large-trade sentiment leaned bearish, with $1.33 million in bullish flow versus $2.11 million in bearish flow, leaving a net bearish difference of $0.78 million. The directional read is therefore moderately bearish, as the aggregate flow shows more premium committed to downside or upside-capping structures than to outright bullish positioning. Even though the biggest trade was a net-credit short-put combination that reflects premium collection and some tolerance for stability, the broader large-trade mix was still dominated by bearish-leaning activity, including the sizable out-of-the-money call sale and additional put buying elsewhere in the tape.

Strategy Reference

For traders looking to sell premium in this high-volatility environment while managing risk, selling a put spread—such as the August 2024 $30/$25 put vertical—could offer defined risk and collect premium with a relatively low probability of assignment at the lower strike.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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