Feb. 12 at 11:31 PM
$IBM took a hit today, down 4.9%
The Confluent acquisition at a 35% premium isn't sitting well with the market
We've got a massive surge in put buying, 97% of the flow, about 13 times the usual action
That
$137M buy on Feb 20
$310 puts shows serious downside conviction
Front-week IV is crazy high, 150 to 170%
Institutions are clearly paying up for protection, making any bullish plays risky without tight hedges
Volatility is staying elevated with this deal-driven re-rating
Looks like defined-risk bearish setups are the play until things settle