Alibaba Shares Gap Below 20-Day Average as Put Premium Hits 85%

Traders poured $240.8 million into Alibaba put options on Nov 12 — 85% of the session's total options premium — as the stock gapped below its 20-day moving average and printed a new 60-day low, according to data from GTA Terminal.

Alibaba Group Holding ADRs (BABA) gapped down on Nov 12 from a 101.52 close to a 95.51 open, then finished the day at 94.36, down 7.1%, on 25.6 million shares. That volume ran roughly 2.7 times the 20-day average. Today's session low of 93.17 marked the cheapest print since late June, approaching the 52-week low of 91.99 set on Jun 26.

What do the technicals show?

Near 94.0 at midday, the stock trades below every major moving average GTA Terminal tracks:

• 20-day SMA: 102.24
• 50-day SMA: 106.87
• 100-day SMA: 111.33
• 200-day SMA: 122.79

The 20-day average sits under the 50-day, confirming a downtrend across timeframes. The 14-day RSI reads 33.3, close to oversold territory but not yet there. The Nov 12 gap left resistance overhead, bounded by the Nov 11 low at 101.05.

How skewed was the options flow?

The raw volume numbers look balanced: 162,972 calls traded against 131,145 puts, a put/call ratio of 0.80. The money told a different story. Puts absorbed $240.8 million of premium against just $43.8 million into calls — only 15% of the session's spend went to the bullish side.

Open interest still leans the other way, with a put/call ratio of 0.52 across 1,446,887 calls and 758,866 puts. That means the existing book remains call-heavy, and the Nov 12 rush represents fresh positioning rather than unwinding.

The single Jan 15, 2027 expiration drew $137.2 million of premium, with calls making up just 7% of it. Volume above open interest — the signature of new positions — clustered in longer-dated puts:

• Jan 15, 2027 puts: 14,569 traded vs 10,133 open interest, roughly $66.7M
• Jan 15, 2027 puts (second tranche): 8,109 vs 5,406 open interest, roughly $41.1M
• Dec 18 puts: 7,295 vs 3,077 open interest, roughly $32.5M
• Dec 18 puts (second tranche): 4,208 vs 2,951 open interest, roughly $16.8M

What happened in the dark pools?

Off-exchange share of BABA trading climbed steadily into the breakdown: 34.8% on Nov 6, 39.6% on Nov 9, 34.7% on Nov 10, 41.9% on Nov 11 and 42.4% on Nov 12. That final session saw 10.7 million shares cross off-exchange — 3.1 times the 20-session average.

Which levels matter now?

GTA Terminal maps four price points that define the trade:

• 102.24 — the 20-day SMA
• 101.05 — the Nov 11 low and top of the Nov 12 gap, now resistance
• 93.17 — today's 60-day low, the near support
• 91.99 — the 52-week low, which would invalidate the support zone

The setup cuts both ways, per the data. A close back above 101.05 into the gap, with put premium fading, would weaken the bearish read. A close under 93.17 and then 91.99, with dark-pool share holding above 40%, would confirm the downside. GTA Terminal notes the analysis is not financial advice, but with 85% of premium betting on declines, the options market has already voted.