Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) options began trading Tuesday on Cboe Global Markets Inc. (CBOE:CBOE) and Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), marking one of the most closely watched options launches in years.
- SPCX stock is climbing. See the chart and price action here.
Gamma Squeeze Ahead?
Experts expect high implied volatility from the start. Analysts at SpotGamma point out there is no positioning history, no IV anchor and no established gamma exposure profile — meaning options will price extreme uncertainty from day one.
Wide bid-ask spreads and rich premiums are the baseline expectation.
The structural setup is also notable: SPCX’s tradable float is just 3% to 5% of the company’s valuation, and that thinness matters enormously for options dealers.
If retail call-buying dominates early flow, dealers will likely be short gamma on a stock with almost no liquidity cushion — meaning their hedging activity amplifies price moves rather than dampening them.
The call-buying and dealer hedging could lead to a gamma squeeze — a rapid, often extreme surge in a stock’s price driven by the options market rather than the company’s underlying fundamentals.
It occurs when heavy buying of call options forces market makers to aggressively purchase the underlying stock to hedge their risk.
SpotGamma called the SpaceX setup “one of the highest-gamma-sensitivity environments of the decade.”
Zero Hedge also predicted a possible gamma squeeze that could drive the price to $400 per share.
"SPCX options start trading tomorrow: it could gamma squeeze to 400, surpassing NVDA," Zero Hegde wrote in a post on X.
Demand For SPCX Shares Is Sky-High
Compounding the dynamic: an estimated $22 billion to $27 billion in forced mechanical index buying is expected from Nasdaq-100 and Russell trackers in the coming weeks, with SPCX’s Nasdaq-100 fast-entry expected 15 trading days post-IPO.
SpaceX is currently unprofitable, posting a net loss of $4.28 billion in Q1 2026 — making it the only publicly traded company over $1 trillion in market cap that isn’t generating profit. That hasn’t slowed demand.
"It has the TAM of a science fiction novel while the price to earnings-growth ratio of chips is the lowest it's been in the sector's history," Mike Purves, CEO of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, told CNBC.
"But there's a huge bid in upside calls for anything AI-related and that means the price for protection is higher too – I'd suggest SpaceX will be having that dynamic magnified."
Reuters reported that more than 115,000 options contracts on SpaceX were traded in the first ten minutes and 500,000 options contracts changed hands in the first hour, according to Trade Alert data.
The Exchanges
For exchanges, the moment is massive. Cboe and Nasdaq handled nearly 60% of all options volume last year, according to Bloomberg, and will host SPCX options.
Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD), where options trading represents roughly a quarter of total revenue, could stand to benefit significantly.
SpaceX is expected to climb immediately to the top of the most-actively-traded options list — potentially rivaling Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) in daily contract volume.
SPCX Stock Price Activity: SpaceX stock was up 11.44% at $214.53 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo: Dimitris Barletis / Shutterstock
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