Applied Digital (APLD) has been one of the standout performers of the past year, surging more than 200% as investors reward its aggressive pivot into AI‑focused data‑center infrastructure.
But on Friday, Nov. 14, the stock attracted a different kind of attention. An unusually large block of call options hit the tape, thrusting APLD onto the radar of volatility traders and momentum watchers.
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Unusual options activity rarely tells the whole story, but it can reveal how larger players are positioning. In this case, the sheer size of the order, combined with almost no existing open interest, suggested that someone was betting on a meaningful move (or a lack of one) into late November.
Shares of Applied Digital drew attention on Nov. 14 when an unusually large block of call options hit the tape. Roughly 71,000 contracts of the weekly $25 calls expiring Nov. 28 traded during a single session — a staggering jump from just 176 contracts of open interest heading into the day.
With shares of APLD closing at $23.65 on Nov. 14, and those calls settling near $1.50, that implies a breakeven around $26.50, or roughly 12% above the stock’s closing price. For a name already known for outsized moves, that’s an important development.
Unusual Options Activity (Nov. 14)
The volatility backdrop helps frame the trade more clearly. Implied volatility in the Nov. 28 weeklies stood near 114%, while 20-day historical volatility hovered around 97%. Both figures are elevated, but not extreme.The IV Rank of 47% reinforces that point — it suggests that while option premiums are expensive in absolute terms, they are not unusually high relative to APLD’s own 52-week history. That nuance matters, particularly when large orders land in a thin open-interest environment, because it tells traders that the options aren’t being scooped up purely due to an extreme in volatility.
The next question, of course, is intent.
At first glance, a trade of this size may appear bullish, perhaps a long-call position from a bullish trader looking for a snap-back rebound. But other interpretations are just as plausible. One possibility is a delta-neutral setup, such as a call sale paired with long stock. In this case, the $25 call carried a delta near 0.44, meaning a trader could sell the calls and simultaneously buy shares at that hedge ratio.
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