--- title: "Citigroup Sees Unusual Options Activity and $223 Million Block Trade After Hours" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296785307.md" description: "Citigroup (C) experienced unusual options activity and a $223 million after-hours block trade of 1.7 million shares at $131.65 per share. Institutional buyers executed aggressive bullish LEAPS call sweeps for expirations in 2026, 2027, and 2028. With low short interest at 1.47%, the buying signals genuine accumulation. This follows recent strategic expansions, including a $4.6 billion energy infrastructure loan and new custody technology launches. C shares are up 12.82% year-to-date." datetime: "2026-08-24T12:03:34.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296785307.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296785307.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296785307.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Citigroup Sees Unusual Options Activity and $223 Million Block Trade After Hours **Citigroup Inc.** (NYSE:C) experienced a surge of unusual options activity during the Friday, Aug. 21, session, capped off by a massive $223 million block trade executed after hours. ## **Massive After-Hours Block Trade** According to Benzinga Pro, on Friday at 04:56 p.m. ET, market data captured a massive order for Citigroup shares. The block trade comprising 1.7 million shares was priced directly above the asking price of $131.62 apiece at $131.65 per share, resulting in an aggregate transaction value of roughly $223.8 million. ## **Aggressive LEAPS Call Sweeps** The after-hours trade followed a series of heavy bullish sweeps in the options market throughout the day. Institutional buyers demonstrated strong long-term conviction in call options expiring years out: January 2027 Calls: A single sweep generated $981,000 in trade value for $77.50 strike in-the-money (ITM) calls expiring Jan. 15, 2027. December 2026 Calls: A major order spent $814,625 on $70 strike ITM calls expiring Dec. 18, 2026. December 2028 Calls: Buyers hit out-of-the-money (OTM) $140 strike calls, including a single trade valued at $403,837 expiring Dec. 15, 2028. **Read Also: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Reveals the Chilling Moment He Knew It 'Might Be Goodbye' During Emergency Heart Surgery— and He Had One Request for His Wife: 'Call The Company…'** ## **Low Short Interest** The aggressive buying points to genuine institutional accumulation rather than a short squeeze. Exchange data for the July 31 settlement date shows Citigroup’s short interest stood at just 1.47% of float, with 24,686,076 shorted shares and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.14. ## **Recent Strategic Expansions** Adding to the bullish sentiment, Citi announced key strategic developments this month. On Aug. 14, Citi participated in a $4.6 billion syndicated loan for Japan-U.S. energy infrastructure. **Robert Nakamura**, Citi Country Officer and Head of Banking for Japan, noted, “The investment in energy infrastructure supports growth driven by AI and digitalization.” On Aug. 18, the bank unveiled Custody+, a real-time suite utilizing “Single Event Processing technology” to process over 80% of total event volume in real-time. Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi Investor Services, stated the platform was designed to help clients move “away from legacy to next-generation architecture.” Finally, on Aug. 21, Citi became the Depositary Bank for Agilyx ASA‘s new American Depositary Receipt program, trading OTC under the symbol “AGYXY.” ## **How Has Citigroup Performed in 2026?** C shares rose 12.82% year-to-date, advanced by 42.19% over the last year, and rose 13.49% over the last six months. It closed 1.53% higher at $131.65 per share on Friday, and it was 0.17% higher in premarket trading on Monday. **Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings** indicate that BABA maintains a strong price trend in the long term but a weak trend in the short and medium terms, with a moderate growth score. **Read Also: ‘Big Short’ Investor Steve Eisman: Forget The Banks, AI Now Controls US Economy’s Fate** ***Disclaimer:*** *This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.* *Image via Shutterstock* ### Related Stocks - [C.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/C.US.md) - [JPM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM.US.md) - [BABA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABA.US.md) - [09988.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09988.HK.md) - [C-R.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/C-R.US.md) - [JPM-M.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-M.US.md) - [JPM-C.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-C.US.md) - [JPM-D.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-D.US.md) - [JPM-L.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-L.US.md) - [8634.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/8634.JP.md) - [JPM-K.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-K.US.md) - [JPM-J.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JPM-J.US.md) - [89988.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/89988.HK.md) - [HBBD.SG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HBBD.SG.md) ## Related News & Research - [XPENG-W Slumps Nearly 10% at Half-day as Multiple Brokers Say 2Q Losses Beat Expectations; Bullish on Robotics Business](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296860600.md) - [Bitcoin lands on the same custody rails Citi uses for equities and bonds](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296272222.md) - [BOXABL (NASDAQ: BXBL) Unveils Server Pod Concept for Modular AI, Cloud Computing Infrastructure](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296514790.md) - [REG - Sequoia Econ Infra - PDMR / PCA Shareholding](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296812006.md) - [Infrastructure Dividend Split Corp declares August Class A distribution of $ 0.15 per share](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296799113.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**