Option Focus | NVIDIA Sees 100,000 Contracts $140/$150 Bull Call Spread Trade, Institutions Bet on Modest June Upside

Shares of $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ fell 1.40% on Monday to close at $165.17. The company and its CEO Jensen Huang are facing a class-action lawsuit from investors alleging they downplayed the extent to which gaming GPU revenue was tied to cryptocurrency mining demand.

A U.S. federal judge has allowed the lawsuit to proceed. Plaintiffs claim that between 2017 and 2018, NVIDIA failed to adequately disclose the degree of its reliance on crypto-related sales in its gaming segment.

I. Implied Volatility and Trading Activity

1. Implied Volatility

• Implied Volatility (IV): 46.46%

• IV Percentile: 53.39%

• IV/HV Ratio: 1.53

With IV percentile at 53.39%, NVIDIA options are trading in a neutral range relative to the past year, suggesting they are neither particularly cheap nor expensive. An IV/HV ratio above 1 indicates that the market expects higher volatility ahead compared with recently realized levels.

2. Put/Call Ratio

• Put/Call Ratio: 1.36

This suggests a mildly defensive positioning in overall options flow.

II. Open Interest (OI) Analysis (Expiry: April 10, 2026)

Note: The analysis is based solely on the April 10, 2026 options chain.

Top Three Contracts by OI:

• $170 Put: 36,533 contracts

• $190 Call: 35,647 contracts

• $185 Call: 17,279 contracts

OI Structure:

Open interest shows a clear bifurcation. Call OI is concentrated in out-of-the-money strikes ($185–$190), while put OI is heavily concentrated in in-the-money $170 strikes, likely reflecting hedging activity or downside protection.

This positioning points to mixed short-term expectations, with both bullish and defensive strategies in play.

Source: Option Charts

III. Block Trade Activity

1. Mixed Directional Bets

Large trades are primarily concentrated in June 2026 and longer-dated maturities. Positioning is split between bullish and bearish views, with no dominant directional conviction.

2. Active Option Selling

Observed sell-side block trades involve deep out-of-the-money options, including $150 puts and $190/$228 calls. This suggests traders are seeking to harvest time decay and expect no extreme price moves in the near term.

3. Institutional Strategy: Moderately Bullish

Several notable spread strategies point to a constructive medium-term outlook:

• Bull Call Spread (June 2026):
  Buy $140 call / Sell $150 call
  → Lower cost structure; profitable if the stock holds above ~$148

$NVDA Vertical 260618 140.0C/150.0C$

Source: Tiger Trade App

• Bull Call Spread (December 2026):
  Buy $164 call / Sell $228 call
  → Uses deep OTM call selling to finance a near-the-money long, signaling longer-term moderate upside expectations

$NVDA Vertical 261218 164.0C/228.0C$

Source: Tiger Trade App

Source: Tiger Trade App

• Bull Put Spread (January 2027):
  Sell $150 put / Buy $130 put
  → Profitable if the stock remains above ~$143, reflecting a defensive bullish stance

$NVDA Vertical 270115 130.0P/150.0P$

Source: Tiger Trade App

IV. Strategy Takeaways

Market flows suggest that selling deep out-of-the-money options—such as puts below $150 or calls above $190—has been widely adopted, likely due to their lower probability of being exercised.

For investors seeking defined risk exposure, spread strategies such as bull call spreads offer a balanced approach—allowing directional positioning while capping both potential gains and losses.

Overall, options activity indicates that institutional investors maintain a moderately bullish outlook on NVIDIA over the medium term, while remaining cautious about near-term volatility.