Shares of Nokia closed at $15.68, down 4.74% on the session, while activity in the company’s options market accelerated sharply. Implied volatility (IV) surged to a record high as large block trades flooded into the market, highlighting a notable tug-of-war between sellers of long-dated out-of-the-money calls and investors positioning for longer-term upside.
Options Metrics Point to Elevated Volatility
Nokia’s options IV currently stands at 83.19%, with its IV percentile reaching 98.80%. The reading suggests options are trading at historically expensive levels, reflecting expectations for significant future price swings.
Meanwhile, the call-to-put volume ratio climbed to 3.92, with trading activity heavily concentrated in call options.
Source: Tiger Trade App
Large Trades Reveal Diverging Market Views
Over the past three trading sessions, Nokia’s options tape has seen several sizable block trades with sharply diverging directional views. Overall, notional activity has been dominated by sales of long-dated out-of-the-money call options, alongside scattered buying of upside calls, underscoring a market balancing long-term bullish expectations against premium-collection strategies.
On the put side, traders were active in both selling and buying out-of-the-money contracts, suggesting a broadly neutral-to-slightly-bullish positioning backdrop.
The largest transaction involved the sale of 12,300 contracts of December 2026 $25 call options, with notional value totaling roughly $2.51 million. The trade points to either an aggressive volatility-selling strategy or a covered-call positioning approach aimed at monetizing elevated premiums.
Source: Tiger Trade App
Source: Tiger Trade App
At the same time, bullish investors continued building upside exposure through long-dated call purchases. Notable trades included buying 4,000 contracts of September 2026 $19 calls valued at approximately $820,000, as well as purchasing 1,350 contracts of December 2026 $18 calls worth around $432,000. The activity suggests some investors remain positioned for medium- to long-term upside in the stock.
Source: Tiger Trade App
Source: Tiger Trade App
On the downside, positioning was more mixed. Traders sold 1,307 contracts of January 2027 $15 put options in a moderately bullish income-generating strategy, while others bought 4,000 contracts of June 2026 $15 puts worth roughly $372,000 as short-term downside protection, reflecting a divergence between near-term hedging demand and longer-term constructive views.
Strategy Watch
With implied volatility at historically elevated levels, premium-selling strategies may appear increasingly attractive. For investors seeking to harvest option premium while limiting unlimited upside risk, bull call spreads or call credit spreads could offer a more balanced approach.
One potential structure would involve selling calls around the $25 strike while simultaneously purchasing higher-strike calls to cap risk exposure.
