Nvidia (NVDA) Call Options Surge at $195 Strike: A Bullish Play on AI Expansion and $20B Groq Deal?

• NVDA trades at $190.03, up 1.89% today, with volume surging past 57.5 million shares.
• Options market shows heavy call open interest at $195 and $190 strikes for Friday expiration, while puts dominate below $185.
• Block trades reveal a $7.7M call buy at $175 strike (expiring Sept 2025) and a $2.97M put purchase at $165 (June 2026).

Here’s the takeaway: The stock is charging higher on strong technicals and options positioning, but the real story is the $20B Groq acquisition fueling institutional bets. Let’s break it down.Bullish Options Heatmap and Whale Moves

The options chain is screaming upside bias. For Friday expiration, call open interest peaks at $195 (87,621 contracts) and $190 (78,220), while puts max out at $185 (34,291). This isn’t just retail FOMO—the $195 strike is a psychological magnet, sitting just 2.6% above today’s price. If NVDA cracks $195, those calls could ignite a gamma squeeze.

But don’t ignore the block trades. The $7.7M NVDA20250919C175 purchase (26,000 contracts) suggests big players are hedging or scaling up for Q3. Meanwhile, the $2.97M put buy at $165 (June 2026) hints at long-term downside protection. The risk? If NVDA dips below $182.5 (middle Bollinger Band), the $180–$185 put-heavy zone could trigger a short-term pullback.

News-Driven Tailwinds: AI Acquisitions as Catalysts

Nvidia’s recent $20B Groq buyout isn’t just a headline—it’s a strategic lock on AI inference tech. Groq’s low-latency chips pair perfectly with NVIDIA’s H100/H200 GPUs, creating a one-stop shop for cloud providers. Combine this with the SchedMD acquisition (which keeps Slurm open-source), and you’ve got a moat around AI infrastructure.

Retail investors might not care about Slurm, but enterprise clients do. The message is clear: NVIDIA is betting its future on open-source AI dominance. That’s why options buyers are piling into calls—this isn’t a short-term hype play, it’s a structural shift.

Actionable Trade Ideas: Calls for Gamma, Stock for BreakoutsFor options traders:

• Aggressive play: Buy NVDA20260102C195 (Friday’s $195 call). If NVDA hits $195 by close, this could double or triple.
• Longer-term bet: Load NVDA20260109C200 (next Friday’s $200 call). The $200 level is a key resistance from 2024; breaking it could trigger a re-rating.

For stock buyers:

• Entry near $182.5 (middle Bollinger Band) if support holds. Target $195 first, then $200–$205.
• Stop-loss below $180.7 (30D support). If it breaks there, pivot to puts like NVDA20260109P180.

Volatility on the Horizon: A Gamma-Driven Future

The next 72 hours will test NVDA’s resolve. A close above $195 would validate the call-heavy positioning and push the 200D MA ($160) into view as a distant floor. With Groq integration starting in Q1 2026 and Slurm adoption accelerating, this stock isn’t just riding a wave—it’s building a dam.

Bottom line: The options market and news flow are in sync. If you’re in, ride the $195–$200 strikes. If you’re on the sidelines, wait for a dip to $182.5 before committing. Either way, this is a stock where volatility isn’t a risk—it’s a feature.