Antitrust Scrutiny Pulls Put Traders to Alphabet Stock

A court ruled the company monopolized the online search market

Fernanda Horner

Digital Content Manager

Aug 14, 2024 at 10:11 AM

GOOGL

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering breaking up Big Tech titan Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), after a court ruling determined the company monopolized the online search market, per a Bloomberg News report. This comes amid Alphabet's Pixel phone launch, which showcased its Gemini technology and positioned it as a leader in bringing artificial intelligence (AI) to smartphones.

GOOGL was last seen down 1.2% to trade at $162.20, after a rally off the 180-day moving average fell short of the $165 level. The stock has pulled back significantly from its July 10, all-time high of $191.75, but despite its 10.4% quarter-to-date deficit, it still sports a 16.8% lead for 2024.

Over at International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Volatility Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), GOOGL's 50-day put/call volume ratio sits higher than 97% of readings from the past year. This indicates traders have been more bearish than usual.

Drilling down to today's options activity, 54,000 puts have already crossed the tape, which is double the intraday average volume. The most popular contract is the August 160 put.

It's also worth noting the Alphabet stock sports affordably priced premiums. This is per the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25% that ranks higher than just 21% of annual readings.

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