$16M in Unusual GME Calls: Inside the Options Flow, Insider Filings and 13F Data
GME: calls took 96% of options premium; unusual trades put $15.5M into calls and $0 into puts; insiders bought $76.4M of stock. Here's what the data says.
GMEGameStop Corporation$25.28+2.85%at publication · view live →GameStop Corporation (GME) rose 2.8% to $25.28 in the latest session, on volume 1.7× its daily average. The latest catalyst in the headlines: GameStop makes surprising PS5 Pro pricing move before GTA 6 launch (TheStreet).
Headlines tell you what happened. The money tells you what traders and insiders are doing about it. Below, we run GME through the GTA Terminal (the options-flow, insider, institutional and congressional trackers our Pro members use) to see what's happening beneath the surface.
What the options market is saying
Options traders exchanged 432,400 calls and 51,186 puts on GME, a put/call volume ratio of 0.12. In dollar terms, about $87.0M of premium went into calls versus $4.0M into puts (96% call-side): a call-heavy tape that suggests traders are positioning for upside.
Open interest, the positions still on the books, shows a put/call ratio of 0.45 (1,728,221 call contracts vs. 770,246 puts outstanding), so the existing book is tilted toward calls.
The heaviest activity clustered in the Oct 16 expiration, where $22.5M of premium changed hands (95% in calls).
Several contracts traded more volume than their existing open interest, a sign of new positions being opened rather than old ones being closed:
- $26 calls expiring Oct 16: 23,236 contracts vs. 13,781 open interest, about $3.0M in premium (out of the money)
- $20 calls expiring Oct 23: 3,675 contracts vs. 983 open interest, about $2.3M in premium (in the money)
- $27 calls expiring Oct 30: 13,863 contracts vs. 8,314 open interest, about $2.3M in premium (out of the money)
- $27 calls expiring Oct 16: 17,274 contracts vs. 11,255 open interest, about $1.5M in premium (out of the money)
For the nearest expiration (Oct 16), max pain, the strike where the most option holders would lose money, sits at $21, 16.9% below the current price.
Biggest contracts by premium
| Contract | Volume | Open int. | Last | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25 Call · Dec 18 | 26,077 | 30,147 | $3.60 | $9.4M |
| $25 Call · Oct 16 | 23,274 | 36,635 | $1.90 | $4.4M |
| $21 Call · Dec 18 | 6,157 | 7,556 | $6.20 | $3.8M |
| $26 Call · Oct 16 | 23,236 | 13,781 | $1.28 | $3.0M |
| $25 Call · Jan 21, 2028 | 3,602 | 33,723 | $7.75 | $2.8M |
| $25 Call · Oct 30 | 10,867 | 25,962 | $2.54 | $2.8M |
Options data: Nasdaq option chains, end-of-day volume and open interest for the session of Oct 8, 2026. Premium = volume × last price × 100.
What insiders are doing
Company insiders made 9 open-market purchases worth $76.4M over the past six months, from 5 different insiders, the kind of clustered buying that tends to carry more weight than a single trade. The largest: Ryan Cohen (Director, President, CEO and Chairman) bought 1.15M shares worth $26.4M on Sep 21.
On the other side, insiders reported 4 sales totaling $859K.
| Insider | Role | Date | Type | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Cohen | Director, President, CEO and Chairman | Oct 2 | Buy | 700,000 | $17.1M |
| Nat Turner | Director | Oct 1 | Buy | 10,462 | $255K |
| Daniel William Moore | PFO and PAO | Oct 1 | Sell | 7,297 | $177K |
| Mark Haymond Robinson | General Counsel and Secretary | Oct 1 | Sell | 11,178 | $276K |
| Ryan Cohen | Director, President, CEO and Chairman | Sep 29 | Buy | 450,000 | $10.6M |
| Alain Attal | Director | Sep 21 | Buy | 17,500 | $402K |
| Ryan Cohen | Director, President, CEO and Chairman | Sep 21 | Buy | 1.15M | $26.4M |
| Alain Attal | Director | Sep 10 | Buy | 5,000 | $100K |
Source: SEC Form 4 filings, open-market purchases (code P) and sales (code S).
Institutions and superinvestors
Institutions hold 39.3% of GME's shares across 436 funds and money managers. In the latest 13F quarter, 181 holders added to their positions (12.48M shares) while 165 trimmed (13.35M shares). 62 opened brand-new positions and 48 sold out completely.
Largest holders
| Holder | Shares | Change | % of shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Group Inc | 38.20M | -309,473 | 7.56% | $1.0B |
| Blackrock, Inc. | 36.75M | 864,182 | 7.28% | $976.0M |
| Vanguard Capital Management Llc | 18.35M | 127,767 | 3.63% | $487.3M |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management Llc | 17.33M | -87,536 | 3.43% | $460.3M |
| State Street Corp | 13.05M | 405,798 | 2.58% | $346.6M |
| Geode Capital Management, Llc | 7.65M | 68,366 | 1.51% | $203.1M |
Among the superinvestor portfolios GTA tracks, 1 own the stock: Renaissance Technologies (Jim Simons' firm), added.
Source: SEC 13F filings via Nasdaq; superinvestor portfolios from each fund's latest 13F.
Price action and key levels
GME is +30.3% over the past month, +20.6% over three months and +14.4% over six. It trades 27.2% above its 50-day average of $20.88, and sits 82% of the way through its 52-week range ($17.79 to $26.88).
The bottom line
| Signal | Reading | Lean |
|---|---|---|
| Options flow | 96% of premium in calls · P/C 0.12 | Bullish |
| Insider trading (6 mo) | $76.4M bought · $859K sold | Bullish |
| Institutions (13F) | 0.93 shares added per share sold | Neutral |
| Trend | Above 50-day avg · 3-mo +20.6% | Bullish |
Of the 4 GTA signals above, 3 lean bullish and 0 lean bearish, so the data on GME lean bullish right now. Signals like these shift quickly around earnings, news and expirations, which is why our members track them live rather than once a week.
This article was produced by the GTA Research Desk from GTA Terminal data as of Oct 11, 2026 2:14 AM ET. It is for information and education only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Global Traders Academy may hold positions in the securities mentioned.
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