Option Focus | Nike's $43.74 Million Calendar/Ratio Put Spread Collects Premium, While $2.51 Million Double-Put Buy Signals Bearish Downside Pressure

Option Witch
Yesterday

Nike closed at $34.74, up 1.11%.

Options flow in Nike was dominated by a massive $43.74 million net-credit calendar/ratio put spread, alongside a $2.51 million net-debit double-put purchase. The credit spread monetized rich in-the-money put premium while retaining selected long-put protection, whereas the double-put buy leaned aggressively bearish with in-the-money strikes. Together, the institutional-sized activity points to cautious-to-negative sentiment in Nike.

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Options Indicators

Nike’s implied volatility is 40.87%, and with an IV percentile of 43.03%, current option pricing sits in a neutral volatility range rather than at an extreme. That suggests Nike’s options are neither especially cheap nor especially expensive versus their own recent history, although the IV/HV ratio of 1.73 shows implied volatility is still running notably above realized volatility, meaning the market is embedding a meaningful premium for forward uncertainty.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.40.

Large Trades

A multi-leg put spread structure with a net credit of $43.74 million was the dominant large trade in Nike, built entirely around in-the-money puts across October 2026, January 2027, and March 2027 expirations. Because this combination contains both bought puts and sold puts, it should be read as a spread-style strategy rather than a simple outright bearish bet. The trader sold the 62.50, 60.00, 72.50, and 42.50 puts while buying the 65.00 put and the March 2027 60.00 put, creating a calendar/ratio-style put spread package that brought in a substantial net credit of $43.74 million. Strategically, this looks like premium collection combined with position financing and downside structure management rather than pure naked directionality, as the trader is monetizing rich in-the-money put premium while retaining selected long-put protection in higher strikes and a later-dated tenor.

A directional double-put purchase with a net debit of $2.51 million was the second highlighted trade, consisting of long 42.50 puts and long 40.00 puts expiring on 2026-10-16. Since both legs are buy puts, this is a same-direction long put combination rather than a synthetic position, and it represents a bearish volatility bet paid for with a net debit of $2.51 million. With Nike shares referenced at $34.74, both strikes are in the money, which reinforces that this buyer was seeking meaningful downside exposure and likely positioning for a sizable move lower or for persistent weakness over time. Overall, the large-trade flow skews clearly bearish: even though there were a few small bullish call buys, the institutional-sized activity was concentrated in put structures, and the most directionally expressive trade among the highlighted orders was a sizable in-the-money long put combination, pointing to cautious-to-negative sentiment and expectations for continued downside pressure in Nike.

Strategy Reference

For a low-assignment-probability premium-selling alternative, consider selling the 30.00 put in the nearest monthly expiration, which sits well below Nike’s current $34.74 close and outside the expected range implied by the 40.87% IV; alternatively, a bear put spread such as buying the 35.00 put and selling the 30.00 put can define risk while still expressing downside exposure without tying up excessive margin.

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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