Fastly Inc. is seeing a pronounced directional bias in its options market, where traders have bought far more calls than puts in the very short term. The aggregate call-to-put ratio stands at 7.3:1, reflecting 18,660 calls versus 2,543 puts across 21,203 contracts. The heaviest activity is concentrated in ultra-short dated expirations that are just two days away, suggesting participants are taking high-conviction, time-sensitive positions rather than putting on standard hedge trades.
The catalyst stack
This options flow arrives amid a cluster of company events and recent results that create a clear context for traders' behavior:
- Citi 2026 Global TMT Conference (today, Sep 9) - Fastly management presented at 8:10 AM EDT, a session that coincided with an intraday price rise of +4.23% to $22.40 as of 2:12 PM EDT.
- Record Q2 2026 results (reported Aug 5) - Fastly reported revenue of $183.3 million, a 23% year-over-year increase, a record gross margin of 63.3%, net revenue retention at 117% - its highest in more than three years - and earnings per share of $0.15, beating the $0.07 estimate.
- Investor Day scheduled for Sep 22 at the Nasdaq MarketSite - a known event that traders often use as a catalyst runway.
Where the strikes are clustered
Activity is concentrated in a distinct cluster of call strikes with very short expiries. The following table summarizes the most active contracts, their volumes, and open interest snapshots:
| Expiry | Strike | Volume | Open Interest | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 11, 2026 | $23.50 call | 2,841 | 68 | New position, ~5% OTM |
| Sept 11, 2026 | $25.00 call | 1,454 | 602 | ~11.6% OTM in 2 days |
| Sept 11, 2026 | $25.50 call | 1,410 | 24 | New position, ~13.8% OTM |
| Sept 18, 2026 | $21.00 call | 1,322 | 2,019 | In-the-money, rolling up |
| Sept 18, 2026 | $23.50 call | 1,157 | 1,266 | Extending existing position |
Note that the Sept 11 $23.50 and $25.50 calls had open interest of only 68 and 24 contracts respectively before today. That implies the large intraday volumes largely represent fresh capital entering those strikes rather than trades that merely transferred existing positions. With the Sept 11 expiries 48 hours away, these are unlikely to be classic portfolio hedges and instead read as binary bets on near-term upside.
The volatility picture
Implied volatility metrics point to expensive option prices despite a modest move lower in vol. The three-month implied volatility sits at 89.72%, down 1.96 percentage points, which remains elevated for a mid-cap technology name and makes option premium costly even after the slight compression. The reported 90/110 skew rose by +4.02 percentage points to 2.89 percentage points, an atypical configuration where upside calls are priced richer than downside puts. That skew move supports the view that demand for calls is directional and not casual.
Bull and bear contours
The bullish case is supported by analyst price targets and recent stock performance: Evercore ISI has a $32 target and Raymond James a $29 target, both above current trading levels. The stock has recorded a 1-year return of +192.81% and a 3-month gain of +20.24%, indicating significant momentum. Investor Day on Sep 22 provides a near-term event that could sustain or accelerate that trend.
The downside case centers on insider selling and valuation and cost-of-time for option buyers. Both the CEO and CFO have been selling shares through 10b5-1 plans, and the CFO sold $1.15 million of stock in August. A market-screening service flags the stock as trading above its Fair Value. Given an implied volatility near 89.72%, buyers of these short-dated calls are paying a steep premium; theta decay on two-day expiries will be substantial if the share price stalls.
Near-term verdict
The Sept 11 call cluster behaves like a speculative lottery ticket on an expected weekend gap: any additional conference headlines or analyst actions that arrive before the close on Friday could cause the $23.50 and $25.50 calls to appreciate meaningfully. Absent such headlines, those contracts are at high risk of expiring worthless. The Sept 18 contracts present a more measured approach, preserving time for the Sep 22 Investor Day to unfold.