Stock Markets June 8, 2026 11:47 AM

nLIGHT options activity spikes as December $40 puts dominate volume

Nearly 9,000 contracts trade by late morning as put activity hits levels not seen since 2020

By Derek Hwang
Share
Twitter Reddit Facebook LinkedIn
LASR

Options trading in nLIGHT Inc. surged to 8,936 contracts by 11:40 a.m. New York time on Monday, driven almost entirely by put activity. Calls accounted for 472 contracts while puts reached 8,464, led by a December 18, 2026 $40 put that represented 8,259 contracts. Shares traded higher on the session as measures of near-term volatility moved up and a key skew metric narrowed slightly.

nLIGHT options activity spikes as December $40 puts dominate volume
LASR
Summarize with
ChatGPT Perplexity Claude Grok Gemini

Key Points

  • Total options volume in nLIGHT reached 8,936 contracts by 11:40 a.m. New York time on Monday.
  • Put contracts dominated trading with 8,464 contracts versus 472 call contracts; this level of put activity is the highest since November 6, 2020.
  • The December 18, 2026 $40 put made up 8,259 contracts, while open interest for that series was 40 contracts as of June 5; nLIGHT shares traded at $67.87, up 3.07%.

Options market activity in nLIGHT Inc. accelerated sharply on Monday morning, with aggregate contract volume reaching 8,936 by 11:40 a.m. New York time, according to exchange data compiled by Bloomberg.

The session was dominated by puts. Call option volume stood at 472 contracts, while put volume climbed to 8,464 contracts - the highest single-session put activity for the name since November 6, 2020. The outsized put flow was concentrated in a single strike and expiration: the December 18, 2026 $40 put accounted for 8,259 contracts of the day’s total.

Open interest for that specific December 2026 $40 put was listed at 40 contracts as of June 5, indicating that the intraday executed volume greatly exceeded previously outstanding positions in that series.

On the equity side, nLIGHT shares were trading at $67.87, an increase of 3.07% on the session. Volatility measures showed movement across the near-term curve - the company’s three-month volatility rose by 2.58 percentage points to 105.23%. At the same time, the three-month 90/110 skew eased down by 0.17 percentage points to 0.36 percentage points.

The combination of concentrated put contracts, a rise in short-term implied volatility and a modest narrowing of skew illustrates elevated options market attention around the stock during the trading session. The open interest contrast between the heavy intraday volume in the December $40 puts and the previously recorded 40 contracts of open interest for that series highlights how much of the activity was executed on the day rather than drawn from existing positions.


Market data source: Exchange data compiled by Bloomberg.

Risks

  • Concentrated intraday activity in a single put series may reflect large, event-driven bets or targeted hedging, introducing heightened short-term price sensitivity in the equity and options markets - this affects equity traders and derivatives desks.
  • A rapid increase in implied volatility to 105.23% over three months indicates larger option premium costs and greater uncertainty priced by markets, impacting options buyers and sellers.
  • The divergence between heavy executed volume and low prior open interest for the December $40 put suggests liquidity or execution risk for participants attempting to enter or exit sizable positions in that series.

More from Stock Markets

Zevra Therapeutics Rallies After Cantor Fitzgerald Lifts Price Target; Patent Listing Adds Momentum Jun 8, 2026 Vale CEO Says Metal Demand Remains Robust Despite Middle East Conflict Jun 8, 2026 Aclara Resources Stock Rises as US Development Finance Talks Advance for Chile Project Jun 8, 2026 U.S. Expands List of Chinese Firms It Says Support Beijing’s Military Jun 8, 2026 ISS Urges Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders to Reject Merger-Linked Executive Pay Jun 8, 2026