NVIDIA closed at 227.21 USD, down 0.72 percent.

The session’s large options trades were dominated by a $75.60 million synthetic short and a $1.68 million bear put spread, both pointing to long-dated downside positioning. Despite a headline call/put volume ratio of 1.95, the most influential institutional prints were decisively bearish, creating a notable divergence between retail-oriented volume and large-block conviction.

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Options Indicators

NVIDIA’s implied volatility is 38.16%, and with an IV percentile of 13.94%, current volatility sits on the low side relative to its own recent history, indicating that options are cheaply priced rather than extended. The IV/HV ratio of 1.38 shows implied volatility is running above realized volatility, but not at a level that overrides the broader takeaway that the options market is still pricing NVIDIA at a relatively inexpensive volatility level. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.95.

Large Trades

A bearish synthetic put position with a $75.60 million net credit was the dominant large trade of the session, built by selling 5,000 Jan. 15, 2027 $80 calls and buying 5,000 Jan. 15, 2027 $80 puts. With NVDA referenced at $227.21, the short call leg was deep in the money while the long put leg was out of the money, creating a synthetic short stock structure that expresses a strongly bearish long-term directional view. The use of a large net credit also suggests the trader was comfortable taking in premium while positioning for meaningful downside exposure over a very long-dated horizon.

A bearish put spread with a $1.68 million net debit was the other highlighted block, structured as a buy of 3,000 Dec. 18, 2026 $220 puts against a sale of 3,000 Dec. 18, 2026 $200 puts. Both strikes were out of the money versus the $227.21 reference price, and the structure caps downside profit below $200 while reducing upfront cost relative to an outright put purchase. This is a classic bear put spread, indicating a defined-risk bearish wager on a moderate decline into late 2026 rather than an expectation of a collapse far beyond the lower strike.

Overall, the large-trade flow points clearly bearish. The tape was led by an exceptionally large long-dated synthetic short position and reinforced by a sizable bear put spread, showing that the most influential institutional activity was focused on downside exposure rather than upside participation. While there were some smaller bullish premium-selling and call-buying trades elsewhere in the broader flow, they were overshadowed by the scale and conviction of the bearish structures, leaving the overall options sentiment decisively negative for NVDA.

Strategy Reference

For traders wary of the bearish institutional tape but unwilling to post the margin required for a synthetic short, selling an out-of-the-money call spread such as the Jan. 15, 2027 $260/$280 call spread offers a defined-risk way to collect premium while aligning with the downside bias and cheap IV backdrop.