$52.58M in premium just moved through State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) Dec 18 $770 calls in a single large options trade on Wednesday. The buyer paid up to get filled, on a strike right around where the stock is trading.
What happened
The trade printed after the closing bell, around 4:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 30, with $SPY trading near $762.99. 26,500 contracts went through at $19.84 apiece, or $1,984 per contract, for $52.58M in total premium.
It printed as a cross, with a buyer and seller matched in one pre-arranged print, a common way for large desks to trade size.
Only 16,354 contracts were open at this strike beforehand, so at least part of this is a fresh position rather than an old one being closed.
Why it matters
Buying calls is the straightforward bullish trade. The buyer needs $SPY above about $789.84 by Dec 18 to come out ahead at expiration, 3.5% from where the stock traded.
Adjusted for delta, the position behaves like roughly 1,346,300 shares of SPY, or about $1B of stock exposure.
With 79 days until Dec 18, this is positioning for months, not a quick flip. Implied volatility was about 14%, a calm level, so the options were relatively cheap.
Over the last 11 sessions $SPY has traded between $749.60 and $775.14 and is up 0.9% over that stretch. The stock came into this trade in the middle of that range.
The numbers
| Contract | SPY Dec 18 $770 Call |
|---|---|
| Expiration | Dec 18, 2026 (79 days) |
| Execution | Large Options Trade |
| Side | Buy side (at or near the ask) |
| Contracts | 26,500 |
| Price | $19.84 ($1,984 per contract) |
| Total premium | $52.58M |
| Stock at the trade | $762.99 |
| Strike vs. stock | At the money (0.9% above) |
| Breakeven at expiration | $789.84 |
| Delta | 0.51 |
| Implied volatility | 14% |
| Open interest before | 16,354 |
Three ways this could play out
Bullish continuation
If $SPY pushes through $775.14, the top of its recent range, the move works for this buyer and the flow starts to look like early conviction rather than noise.
Bearish rejection
If $SPY slips under $749.60, the bottom of its recent range, the pressure lands on this buyer, and $789.84 becomes the level that decides whether the trade is saved.
Neutral stabilization
If $SPY chops between $749.60 and $775.14 into Dec 18, time decay does the work. That slowly bleeds this buyer, who loses a little value every day the stock goes nowhere.
What to watch next
- $789.84: breakeven for this trade at expiration.
- $770 strike: whether $SPY moves toward it or away from it.
- Open interest at the $770 call in the next session. A jump confirms a new position; a drop points to a close.
- Repeat flow in the Dec 18 expiration. More size at nearby strikes would show this was not a one-off.
- $749.60 and $775.14: the edges of SPY’s recent trading range.
- December 18, 2026: expiration, 79 days out.
