SpaceX options ignited the market on their first trading day—call option volume neared one million contracts, ranking fifth nationwide and rivaling NVIDIA and Tesla. SpaceX’s stock rose nearly 5% overnight and has surged approximately 50% from its IPO price to date. Institutional investors are aggressively buying call options while simultaneously establishing hedges; weekly and end-of-month options have not yet been listed, suggesting the frenzy may be just beginning.
Trading in SpaceX options surged immediately upon market opening, reflecting investors' highly speculative enthusiasm for Elon Musk’s space company.
On Tuesday, SpaceX options officially began trading, with call option volume reaching nearly one million contracts on the first day—ranking fifth among all U.S. option listings and placing it alongside consistently active names such as NVIDIA and Tesla. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s share price rose nearly 5% that day to $201.80, representing a cumulative gain of approximately 50% from its IPO price of $135 last week.
Notably, weekly options have not yet been launched—they are expected to start trading on Thursday. Chris Murphy, Co-Head of Derivatives Strategy at Susquehanna Investment Group, noted that this makes current trading volumes even more significant; once weekly and end-of-week options are introduced, short-term trading activity and retail participation are expected to rise further.
Bullish sentiment dominates, with large orders betting on substantial upside
The robust activity in call options directly reflects market optimism about SpaceX’s future performance. According to Chris Murphy, several notable large-scale call option trades occurred on Tuesday: one buyer purchased 1,500 July call contracts with a $300 strike price, while another acquired 6,500 July call contracts with a $325 strike price at $7 per contract.
Each options contract corresponds to 100 shares of the underlying stock. For these two trades to hold intrinsic value at expiration in July, the stock price would need to rise significantly from current levels.
The first batch of SpaceX options will expire this Thursday. Given the intense speculative interest in the company, industry participants expect regulators and exchanges to face considerable pressure to promptly introduce daily and even end-of-day options products.
Institutions simultaneously establish hedges to lock in downside risk
Amid heightened bullish sentiment, some institutional investors are concurrently implementing hedging positions. On Tuesday, several sizable 'collar' trades were executed—buying put options to protect against downside risk while selling call options to offset hedging costs, albeit at the expense of capping potential upside gains.
One particularly prominent collar trade involved 7,700 contracts, specifically buying September $200 puts and simultaneously selling September $220 calls.
Chris Murphy noted that the maturity date of this transaction coincides with the expiration of SpaceX's stock lockup period, suggesting it is likely a hedging arrangement against unlock-related risks.
The options ecosystem continues to expand, and active trading is likely to persist.
The SpaceX options market remains in its early stages, with an incomplete product lineup. With weekly options expected to launch on Thursday and sustained rising demand for short-dated options, the range of tradable contracts will further diversify, potentially amplifying short-term speculative activity.
Chris Murphy stated that as long as SpaceX’s stock maintains high volatility and remains a market focal point, trading activity in its options—particularly call options—is expected to remain robust and could intensify further as additional contracts are progressively listed.
Editor/Lambor