- Single stock options volumes spiked 77% in the past six weeks, according to a Wednesday report from Goldman Sachs.
- $4 is leading those gains. Options volumes for the automaker are up 829% in February compared to the last 12 months.
- "Call buying has dominated this rise in activity, pushing call-skew on single stocks to 1-year highs," wrote Vishal Vivek and John Marshall in the Wednesday note.
- $4
- $4
A surge in traders betting on $4 has led record gains in the options market.
Single stock options volumes surged 77% in the past six weeks to a new all-time high, according to a Wednesday report from Goldman Sachs. At the forefront of the gains is Tesla, which has the highest average daily traded value in February with nearly $80 million poured into contracts traded so far.
That's an 829% increase in the volume of Tesla options compared with the last 12 months combined. It comes amid a trading mania that saw the stock surge as much as 112% through February 4, when Tesla closed at an all-time high of $887.06 per share.
"Call buying has dominated this rise in activity, pushing call-skew on single stocks to 1-year highs," wrote Vishal Vivek and John Marshall in the Wednesday note.
Call options give buyers the right to buy an asset such as Tesla stock at a specified price within a specific time period. If the stock or other underlying asset increases in price, the holder of the call option gains. Call-skew refers to the difference in implied volatility for option contracts for the same underlying asset at different strike prices.
Investors trading Tesla options have reported $4 trading $4 during the stock's torrid rally. In one day of the automaker's parabolic rise, the value of Tesla shares traded was $4. At the peak of the surge, there were 1.8 Tesla calls traded for every S&P 500 call, the biggest gap on record, $4.
Other than Tesla, recent growth in options volumes has also been driven by a pickup in trading big tech stocks including $4, $4, $4, $4, and $4according to the note.
Tesla has gained $4
