Options Market Statistics (2/13): Traders Brace for a Blowup as Cost of Protection for US Stocks

The cost of hedging against another equity market blowup has risen to its highest level since October as investors brace for a surge in volatility as U.S. stocks head for their worst week in nearly two months, according to Market Watch.

The CBOE VVIX Index broke above 100 on Thursday for the first time since Oct. 14, according to FactSet data. The gauge is now set to finish Friday's session at its highest level to end a week since mid-October. The VVIX a measure of the change of volatility in the $CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index(.VIX.US)$ which in turn is a popular measure of the stock market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index options.

$Tesla(TSLA.US)$ shares plunged 5% as the stock price fell to $196.89 last Friday, with option volume of nearly 0.99 million 4.91 million, and calls accounted for 52.7% of the volume.

$NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$ shares plunged nearly 5% last Friday, with option volume of almost 1.13 million options traded, and puts accounted for 54.7% of the volume.

$Apple(AAPL.US)$ shares edged up last Friday, with option volume of nearly 970,000 options, and puts accounted for 51% of the volume. The 150.00 calls lead the flow with the highest volume.

$Lyft Inc(LYFT.US)$ shares plunged over 36% on earnings, with volume 8x normal at nearly 600,000 contracts, and calls accounted for 61.3% of the volume.

$AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$ fell more than 8%, with option volume of almost 570,000 options traded, and puts accounted for 53.8% of the volume. The 10.00 calls expiring in a month were traded most actively.