NVDA Is Trending With Retail Traders. Here's What Options and Insider Data Show
NVDA: calls took 72% of options premium; unusual trades put $53.1M into calls and $60.9M into puts; 3,376 institutions added shares. Here's what the data says.
NVDANVIDIA Corporation$230.48-2.94%at publication · view live →NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) fell 2.9% to $230.48 in the latest session. The latest catalyst in the headlines: Cerebras Is About as Big as Nvidia's Data Center Business Was Nearly a Decade Ago. The Similarities Mostly End There. (Motley Fool). NVDA also ranks #6 among the most-discussed stocks on social media, with 23 mentions in the past 24 hours.
Headlines tell you what happened. The money tells you what traders and insiders are doing about it. Below, we run NVDA 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 932,868 calls and 911,557 puts on NVDA, a put/call volume ratio of 0.98. In dollar terms, about $705.4M of premium went into calls versus $277.2M into puts (72% call-side): a fairly balanced market without a decisive directional tilt.
Open interest, the positions still on the books, shows a put/call ratio of 0.89 (7,596,309 call contracts vs. 6,770,603 puts outstanding), roughly balanced.
The heaviest activity clustered in the Oct 16 expiration, where $330.7M of premium changed hands (86% 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:
- $207.5 calls expiring Oct 14: 7,404 contracts vs. 8 open interest, about $15.3M in premium (in the money)
- $207.5 calls expiring Oct 16: 6,312 contracts vs. 243 open interest, about $14.1M in premium (in the money)
- $165 puts expiring Feb 19, 2027: 75,069 contracts vs. 6,977 open interest, about $13.5M in premium (out of the money)
- $232.5 calls expiring Oct 16: 48,531 contracts vs. 17,359 open interest, about $11.3M 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 $232.5, 0.9% above the current price.
Biggest contracts by premium
| Contract | Volume | Open int. | Last | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $180 Call · Oct 16 | 30,280 | 93,552 | $49.73 | $150.6M |
| $100 Call · Dec 15, 2028 | 3,389 | 10,814 | $142.45 | $48.3M |
| $160 Call · Oct 16 | 4,282 | 4,258 | $68.60 | $29.4M |
| $90 Call · Dec 15, 2028 | 1,746 | 5,723 | $150.45 | $26.3M |
| $180 Put · Jan 15, 2027 | 101,416 | 155,649 | $2.16 | $21.9M |
| $260 Call · Jun 17, 2027 | 10,446 | 30,963 | $18.85 | $19.7M |
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
On the other side, insiders reported 7 sales totaling $1.2B. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timothy S. Teter | EVP, General Counsel and Sec | Sep 21 | Sell | 30,460 | $6.8M |
| Mark A Stevens | Director | Sep 18 | Sell | 1.37M | $300.1M |
| Colette Kress | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Sep 17 | Sell | 34,918 | $7.6M |
| Mark A Stevens | Director | Sep 3 | Sell | 1.02M | $235.6M |
| Mark A Stevens | Director | Aug 31 | Sell | 1.85M | $410.8M |
| Timothy S. Teter | EVP, General Counsel and Sec | Aug 31 | Sell | 30,000 | $6.5M |
| Mark A Stevens | Director | Jun 18 | Sell | 885,000 | $186.0M |
Source: SEC Form 4 filings, open-market purchases (code P) and sales (code S).
Institutions and superinvestors
Institutions hold 79.5% of NVDA's shares across 6,276 funds and money managers. In the latest 13F quarter, 3,376 holders added to their positions (656.97M shares) while 2,566 trimmed (413.99M shares). 291 opened brand-new positions and 121 sold out completely.
Largest holders
| Holder | Shares | Change | % of shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Group Inc | 2.27B | 43.15M | 9.41% | $519.7B |
| Blackrock, Inc. | 1.94B | 16.39M | 8.06% | $445.2B |
| Vanguard Capital Management Llc | 1.54B | 2.27M | 6.39% | $353.3B |
| Fmr Llc | 1.03B | 32.20M | 4.26% | $235.3B |
| State Street Corp | 1.01B | 15.90M | 4.19% | $231.5B |
| Geode Capital Management, Llc | 606.22M | 4.89M | 2.52% | $139.0B |
Among the superinvestor portfolios GTA tracks, 9 own the stock: D. E. Shaw & Co. (D. E. Shaw), added, Citadel Advisors (Ken Griffin), reduced, Tiger Global Management (Chase Coleman), reduced, Renaissance Technologies (Jim Simons' firm), added, Coatue Management (Philippe Laffont), reduced.
Source: SEC 13F filings via Nasdaq; superinvestor portfolios from each fund's latest 13F.
Congressional trades
Members of Congress disclosed 37 trades in NVDA over the past year (18 purchases, 19 sales).
| Member | Type | Amount | Traded | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D) | Partial sell | $1,001 - $15,000 | Aug 18 | Sep 10 |
| Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D) | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Jul 17 | Sep 4 |
| John J. McGuire III (R) | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Aug 18 | Sep 2 |
| Michael A. Rulli (R) | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Jun 25 | Aug 7 |
| Sam T. Liccardo (D) | Partial sell | $15,001 - $50,000 | Jul 21 | Jul 27 |
| Dan Newhouse (R) | Partial sell | $1,001 - $15,000 | Jul 10 | Jul 17 |
Source: U.S. House Periodic Transaction Reports. Amounts are disclosed as ranges.
Price action and key levels
NVDA is +5.0% over the past month, +12.7% over three months and +21.6% over six. It trades 3.2% above its 50-day average of $222.08, and sits 84% of the way through its 52-week range ($164.27 to $243.37). Wall Street's average one-year price target of $315.00 implies +36.7% from here.
The bottom line
| Signal | Reading | Lean |
|---|---|---|
| Options flow | 72% of premium in calls · P/C 0.98 | Neutral |
| Insider trading (6 mo) | $0 bought · $1.2B sold | Bearish |
| Institutions (13F) | 1.59 shares added per share sold | Bullish |
| Congress (12 mo) | 18 buys · 19 sells | Bearish |
| Trend | Above 50-day avg · 3-mo +12.7% | Bullish |
Of the 5 GTA signals above, 2 lean bullish and 2 lean bearish, so the data on NVDA are mixed 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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