An options trader placed what CNBC said was Monday's largest Nvidia trade, buying February 2026 calls worth about $57 million as part of a bullish spread after a sell-off in the stock¹.

CNBC said the core position was the purchase of 52,000 195-strike calls expiring Feb. 19, opened as a new long, while selling the same number of 245-strike calls for that expiry, which reduced the cost by about $10 million¹.

The net call spread needs Nvidia above about $206 by expiry, or roughly 15% higher, to be profitable, CNBC reported, and the short 245 strike would represent a nearly 40% rally toward the Oct. 6 all-time high of $243¹.

The print was likely a roll down from an existing 210/255 call spread worth about $42 million that was closed, according to SpotGamma analysis cited by CNBC¹.

SpotGamma founder Brent Kochuba told CNBC the trader became more aggressive by moving to lower strikes for more upside exposure because implied volatility was expensive heading into earnings¹.

CNBC said the 195-strike calls were the single biggest options trade on the tape Monday, and that 12 of the top 20 options trades by dollar amount were in Nvidia¹.

By midday, flows leaned bullish, with 57% of options volume in calls and more than $660 million of call premium likely initiated by buyers, according to SpotGamma data in the report¹.

The most popular single contract by volume was the 180-strike call expiring Monday, which CNBC said needed Nvidia to recover about 1.2% by the close to break even¹.

The identity of the trader was not disclosed¹.

Sources

1. CNBCA massive trade in Nvidia just went off – here are the details1:37 PM

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