OPTIONS FLOW$RKLBRocket Lab CorporationOpen ticker analysis →
$33.22M moved through Rocket Lab Corporation ($RKLB) options on Tuesday in a 2-leg trade built around the $60 to $85 strikes. The legs lean bearish: the bought side profits as Rocket Lab falls, and the sold side helps pay for it.
What happened
The legs printed together midday, around 12:50 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 13, with $RKLB near $64.12, for $33.22M in combined premium across 22,000 contracts.
Trading the legs as one ticket locks in the price of the whole structure at once, which is how professional desks usually put on spreads.
Netting the legs, the trader paid about $660K to put the position on. The sold legs mean the risk does not stop at that debit if the stock moves hard against them.
- RKLB Jan 21, 2028 $60 Put: 11,000 contracts at $15.40 (bought)
- RKLB Jan 21, 2028 $85 Call: 11,000 contracts at $14.80 (sold)
Why it matters
A risk reversal buys one side and sells the other, using the premium from one leg to pay for the other. It is a directional view financed with the opposite option.
Net of all legs, the structure behaves like being short roughly 930,400 shares of RKLB, about $59.66M of stock exposure.
The strikes run from $60.00 (6.4% below the stock) to $85.00 (32.6% above the stock), so the trade is built around a zone rather than a single target.
With 465 days until Jan 21, 2028, this is a long-dated position measured in years, the kind of trade built around a thesis rather than the next headline. Implied volatility ran around 69%, elevated, which means traders are paying up for movement.
Over the last 12 sessions $RKLB has traded between $63.08 and $78.28 and is down 11.8% over that stretch. The stock came into this trade near the bottom of that range.
The numbers
| Structure | Risk reversal (2 legs) |
|---|---|
| Lean | Bearish |
| Expirations | Jan 21, 2028 (nearest in 465 days) |
| Strikes | $60, $85 |
| Contracts | 22,000 |
| Total premium | $33.22M |
| Net cost | $660K debit |
| Stock at the trade | $64.12 |
Three ways this could play out
Bullish continuation
A move through $85.00 puts $RKLB above every strike. For a structure leaning bearish, that is the worst case.
Bearish rejection
A drop under $60.00 takes $RKLB below every strike. That is where this bearish structure pays the most.
Neutral stabilization
If $RKLB settles between $60.00 and $85.00 into Jan 21, 2028, time decay and the final price decide who wins, which is exactly what spreads are built to control.
What to watch next
- $60.00 and $85.00: the outer strikes that define this trade.
- Open interest on each leg in the next session, to confirm the structure was opened rather than closed.
- Jan 21, 2028: expiration, 465 days out for the nearest leg, when the structure resolves.
- Follow-on spreads at nearby strikes, which would show a desk building a larger position.
- $63.08 and $78.28: the edges of RKLB’s recent trading range.
