Big Money Bets on Space Exploration: $35M in Unusual Calls Hit SPCX Options

SPCX: calls took 67% of options premium; unusual trades put $34.7M into calls and $10.9M into puts; 1,836 institutions added shares. Here's what the data says.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Cl A (SPCX) fell 4.2% to $160.57 in the latest session. The latest catalyst in the headlines: S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Dow End Week Higher With Traders Eyeing Earnings Season — MSFT, NFLX, SPCX, ASTS In Focus (Stocktwits). SPCX also ranks #10 among the most-discussed stocks on social media, with 18 mentions in the past 24 hours, up 12% from the prior day.

Headlines tell you what happened. The money tells you what traders and insiders are doing about it. Below, we run SPCX 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 440,073 calls and 262,415 puts on SPCX, a put/call volume ratio of 0.6. In dollar terms, about $192.9M of premium went into calls versus $97.1M into puts (67% 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 1.06 (2,134,024 call contracts vs. 2,268,859 puts outstanding), roughly balanced.

The heaviest activity clustered in the Oct 16 expiration, where $48.5M of premium changed hands (70% 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:

$160 calls expiring Oct 12: 20,099 contracts vs. 1,128 open interest, about $6.7M in premium (in the money)
$162.5 calls expiring Oct 12: 34,533 contracts vs. 3,471 open interest, about $6.4M in premium (out of the money)
$165 calls expiring Oct 16: 20,200 contracts vs. 14,143 open interest, about $5.7M in premium (out of the money)
$165 calls expiring Oct 12: 47,785 contracts vs. 4,193 open interest, about $4.2M in premium (out of the money)

For the nearest expiration (Oct 12), max pain, the strike where the most option holders would lose money, sits at $165, 2.8% above the current price.

SPCX options premium by strike, all expirations (GTA Options Flow)

Biggest contracts by premium

Contract	Volume	Open int.	Last	Premium
$160 Call · Oct 16	13,348	25,744	$5.29	$7.1M
$160 Call · Oct 12	20,099	1,128	$3.35	$6.7M
$150 Put · Nov 20	12,272	25,096	$5.40	$6.6M
$162.5 Call · Oct 12	34,533	3,471	$1.85	$6.4M
$165 Call · Sep 17, 2027	1,745	5,617	$32.65	$5.7M
$165 Call · Oct 16	20,200	14,143	$2.82	$5.7M

Options data: Nasdaq option chains, end-of-day volume and open interest for the session of Oct 12, 2026. Premium = volume × last price × 100.

Watch SPCX's options flow update every session, strike by strike. Try GTA Options Flow free for 14 days →

What insiders are doing

On the other side, insiders reported 1 sale totaling $52.5M. Insider selling is common: executives sell for taxes, diversification and pre-scheduled 10b5-1 plans, so purchases made with personal cash are generally the stronger signal.

Insider	Role	Date	Type	Shares	Value
Gwynne Shotwell	Director, President and COO	Sep 22	Sell	342,170	$52.5M

Source: SEC Form 4 filings, open-market purchases (code P) and sales (code S).

Institutions and superinvestors

Institutions hold 45.5% of SPCX's shares across 1,846 funds and money managers. In the latest 13F quarter, 1,836 holders added to their positions (3.68B shares) while 6 trimmed (19,358 shares). 1,789 opened brand-new positions and 4 sold out completely.

Largest holders

Holder	Shares	Change	% of shares	Value
Alphabet Inc.	551.19M	551.19M	6.82%	$89.6B
Valor Management Llc	503.41M	503.41M	6.23%	$81.8B
Fmr Llc	302.56M	302.56M	3.74%	$49.2B
Vy Capital Management Co. Ltd.	271.81M	271.81M	3.36%	$44.2B
Gigafund Management Company, Llc	171.83M	171.83M	2.12%	$27.9B
Public Investment Fund	154.15M	154.15M	1.91%	$25.1B

Among the superinvestor portfolios GTA tracks, 8 own the stock: Coatue Management (Philippe Laffont), new, D. E. Shaw & Co. (D. E. Shaw), new, Citadel Advisors (Ken Griffin), new, ARK Investment Management (Cathie Wood), new, Viking Global Investors (Andreas Halvorsen), new.

Source: SEC 13F filings via Nasdaq; superinvestor portfolios from each fund's latest 13F.

Congressional trades

Members of Congress disclosed 10 trades in SPCX over the past year (9 purchases, 1 sale).

Member	Type	Amount	Traded	Filed
Maria Elvira Salazar (R)	Partial sell	$1,001 - $15,000	Sep 24	Oct 7
Maria Elvira Salazar (R)	Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	Aug 12	Sep 9
Maria Elvira Salazar (R)	Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	Aug 12	Sep 9
Jared Moskowitz (D)	Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	Jun 12	Jul 26
William R. Timmons IV (R)	Buy	$50,001 - $100,000	Jun 15	Jul 19
William R. Timmons IV (R)	Buy	$50,001 - $100,000	Jun 15	Jul 19

Source: U.S. House Periodic Transaction Reports. Amounts are disclosed as ranges.

Price action and key levels

SPCX is +9.7% over the past month, +16.8% over three months and +1.0% over six. It trades 12.7% above its 50-day average of $144.24, and sits 46% of the way through its 52-week range ($104.83 to $225.64). Wall Street's average one-year price target of $214.50 implies +33.6% from here.

SPCX daily close, past six months

The bottom line

Signal	Reading	Lean
Options flow	67% of premium in calls · P/C 0.6	Bullish
Insider trading (6 mo)	$0 bought · $52.5M sold	Bearish
Institutions (13F)	190063.01 shares added per share sold	Bullish
Congress (12 mo)	9 buys · 1 sells	Bullish
Trend	Above 50-day avg · 3-mo +16.8%	Bullish

Of the 5 GTA signals above, 4 lean bullish and 1 lean bearish, so the data on SPCX 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 12, 2026 6:33 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.