Super Micro Computer options: Nov. 20 $29 call prints 6,901 contracts in one trade, $1.8 million in premium, as put volume runs 3.18 times its 20-day average

$Super Micro Computer(SMCI.US)$ options traded 559,300 contracts on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2.13 times the 20-day average of 262,900 and above the upper end of its band.

Put volume reached 239,600 contracts, 3.18 times its 20-day average of 75,500 and above the upper end of its band at 159,700. Calls traded 319,700 contracts, 1.71 times average. The put/call ratio came in at 0.75 against an average of 0.44. Open interest totalled 2,539,200 contracts, 1.05 times its average, and the put/call open interest ratio sat at 0.93, slightly below its 0.94 average.

The large trades

The screen required full-session volume of at least 500 contracts, premium of at least $100,000 and a volume-to-open-interest ratio of at least 2.0. Expirations ran 7 to 90 days out, with an absolute delta of 0.15 to 0.80. Its universe was 120 contracts across 6 expiries, with strikes within ±3.7% to ±14.9% of the close. Twelve trades qualified, for $8.15 million in premium. Calls made up 9 of them and $5.76 million, or 71%, while 3 puts accounted for $2.39 million, or 29%. The largest call trade carried $1.8 million and the largest put $1.84 million, so both sides produced contracts trading at more than twice their open interest, and the flow was not one-sided.

Trades worth flagging

All three contracts had 8 days left to expiration. The Nov. 20 $25 put traded 2.07 times its open interest of 10,167 contracts, so the added volume was modest against existing positioning. In the final 928 prints between 9:30 a.m. and 3:59 p.m. ET — 21,042 contracts, or 100% of full-session volume — 61% went off at the bid, which the data source tags as closer to seller-initiated.

The Nov. 20 $29 call traded 13.05 times its open interest of 1,598 contracts, which points to newly opened exposure, though only the next session's open interest will confirm it. Volume between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET accounted for 74% of the session. Of the final 586 prints, 82% went off at the bid, including the largest in the sample, 6,901 contracts at 2:12 p.m. ET. The Nov. 20 $28 call traded 10.03 times its open interest, and 60% of its final 988 prints went off at the ask. One call leaned to the bid and the other to the ask, so the pair should not be read as one-sided.

Open interest and volatility

Within the screened universe, the heaviest open interest on both sides was at the $30 strike, with 19,874 contracts in calls and 25,356 in puts. The next largest was the $25 put at 21,696 contracts. Both sides' heaviest strikes fall at $30, with 45,200 contracts there in total, the range the options market is pricing around.

The 30-day at-the-money implied volatility (IV) came in at 87.8%, the average of the Dec. 11 expiry $27 call and put, against 90.8% historical volatility on the same contract. Under the 85% straddle convention, straddle pricing implies a move of roughly ±16.8%, or a band of $22 to $32.

How to read this, and how not to

A large call trade is not, by itself, evidence that institutions are bullish. The same fill can come from a covered-call writer, one leg of a spread, or a hedge against a long stock position. Direction needs at least three confirmations: whether the trade went off at the bid or the ask, whether open interest rises the following session, and whether the opposing strike saw size at the same time. This article reports publicly available trade data and the screen used to select it. It is not investment advice.

Source: publicly reported U.S. options trades. Coverage window: regular U.S. trading hours, Nov. 12, 2026. Universe: 6 expiries from 7 to 90 days out, strikes roughly ±3.7% to ±14.9% of the close, 120 contracts. Screen: full-session volume of at least 500 contracts, premium of at least $100,000, volume-to-open-interest ratio of 2.0 or higher; 7 to 90 days to expiration; absolute delta between 0.15 and 0.80.