Cloudflare Options Activity Reflects Bullish Conviction as NET Gains 9.25%

Investing.com — As NET trades up 9.25% at $310.59 today, the options market is showing decisive bullish sentiment. A call/put ratio of roughly 2.3:1 — 17,150 calls versus 7,415 puts across 24,565 total contracts — points to traders actively positioning for further gains rather than seeking downside protection. The highest-volume strikes are located 13% to 16% out of the money, signaling confidence that the rally may extend into the September expiration.

The Big Picture: A Wave of Bullishness

Cloudflare Inc. (NET) has seen unusually heavy options volume amid an intraday surge of 9.25% to $310.59 (as of 12:30 p.m. EDT, Sept. 9, 2026). The roughly 2.3-to-1 call/put ratio leaves little room for interpretation: activity is signaling accumulation, not defensive hedging.

Upside Conviction: Big Trades in $350–$360 Calls

The largest single-strike trades are both aggressive call purchases with near-term expirations:

Particularly striking is the $350 call, where volume stands at 3.2 times open interest — an indication that most of this activity represents new positions rather than existing ones being unwound. Since the contract expires in just nine calendar days, a purchaser would need NET to climb above $350 by Sept. 18 to turn a profit. This is a high-conviction, high-gamma wager.

The $360 call, meanwhile, appears to be adding to a pre-existing position with open interest already at 1,762 contracts, pointing to an ongoing bullish outlook at that strike.

Spread Activity: Structured Strategies

A $310/$330 bull call spread expiring Sept. 18 has seen 573 contracts, comprising 286 plus 287 legs. This cost-reducing structure is designed to profit from a climb to $330 by expiration — a more conservative approach than the outright $350 and $360 calls, although directionally consistent. With NET currently near $310, the lower strike is essentially at the money.

A put spread using the $297.50 and $295 strikes, expiring Sept. 11, has traded 1,305 contracts with just two days left until expiration. Open interest was negligible beforehand (five and 22 contracts, respectively), indicating that this is almost entirely new positioning. With strikes located roughly 5% below the current price, the trade resembles a short-term tail-risk hedge — guarding against a swift pullback from today’s gap higher — rather than a bearish directional stance.

An Oct. 16 put at the $290 strike has traded 527 contracts, offering longer-dated protection about 6.5% below the current spot price. This is likely portfolio insurance purchased by an existing shareholder.

Volatility Signal: Implied Volatility Rises Alongside the Move

Three-month implied volatility stands at 63.62%, up 0.64 percentage points. The expansion of IV as the stock rallies suggests the market expects continued large price swings rather than a quick return to normal trading ranges.

The 90/110 skew moved down to 0.73 percentage points, a decline of 0.26 points. The mild drop indicates put premiums are weakening relative to calls; investors appear more inclined to spend on upside exposure than on defensive puts.

Assessing Market Sentiment

The dominant theme is momentum-driven bullishness. The concentration of activity — deep out-of-the-money calls, an at-the-money bull call spread, and softening skew — suggests traders anticipate that the Sept. 18 expiration cycle will settle at higher levels.

The bearish caveat, however, lies in the newly established Sept. 11 put spread — 1,305 contracts with a two-day duration. A participant large enough to amass more than 1,300 contracts is clearly not ignoring the possibility of a sharp reversal following a single-session surge of more than 9%.

Traders should keep an eye on $330 — the upper boundary of the bull call spread — and $350, the call strike with the greatest volume. A weekly close above $330 would provide decisive confirmation of the bullish positioning.

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