Option Focus | Alphabet's $3.69 Million Net Debit Call Buying Targets 2026 Upside as Institutions Stack OTM Calls Across $360 to $405 Strikes

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Yesterday

Alphabet Inc. closed at 341.75 USD, up 1.05 percent.

Large options activity in GOOG leaned heavily bullish, with institutional traders deploying $3.69 million in net debit call buying across 2026 expirations. The flow was dominated by out-of-the-money calls spanning $360 to $405 strikes, signaling expectations for a sustained upside move rather than near-term premium collection.

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Options Indicators

GOOG’s implied volatility is 30.96%, and with an IV percentile of 17.53%, current option volatility sits on the low side of its historical range, indicating that GOOG options are relatively cheaply priced at the moment. The IV/HV ratio of 0.82 further suggests implied volatility is running below realized volatility, reinforcing the view that current option premiums are not particularly expensive. The Call/Put volume ratio is 2.74.

Large Trades

A directional CALL buying combination with a net debit of $2.66 million was the largest displayed trade, consisting of two same-direction call purchases: long 4,000 Sep. 18, 2026 $360 calls and long 4,000 Sep. 18, 2026 $365 calls. This is a same-direction double-long CALL structure, and the position should be read by its provided net debit of $2.66 million rather than by the individual legs. With GOOG referenced at $341.75, both strikes were out of the money, showing a bullish directional bet that seeks a sizable upside move into 2026 rather than premium collection. The use of two nearby OTM call strikes suggests the buyer was positioning for an extended rally with leveraged upside exposure.

A second same-direction CALL buying combination carried a net debit of $1.03 million, pairing a long 3,150 Oct. 16, 2026 $405 call with a long 3,150 Sep. 18, 2026 $380 call. This was again a same-direction double-long CALL combination, executed for a net debit and clearly aimed at directional upside participation. Relative to the $341.75 reference price, both calls were out of the money, making this another higher-conviction bullish expression that requires a meaningful advance in GOOG to pay off. The inclusion of both a nearer-dated $380 call and a later-dated $405 call points to an investor looking for sustained upside momentum across time horizons, with no sign of income-oriented structuring.

Overall large-trade sentiment was decisively bullish, with $3.69 million in bullish flow versus $0.00 million in bearish flow, leaving a net bullish imbalance of $3.69 million. The conclusion is clearly positive: the bulk order activity was entirely concentrated in net-debit, out-of-the-money call buying, which typically reflects traders seeking leveraged upside exposure and anticipating a substantial advance rather than hedging or harvesting premium.

Strategy Reference

For a lower-margin bullish expression, consider a call debit spread such as buying the Sep. 18, 2026 $380 call and selling the Sep. 18, 2026 $405 call, which caps upside but reduces net premium and margin versus the outright long calls.

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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