Options Alert: Has Blue Owl Bottomed?

Blue Owl has been a poster child for credit worries in tech, but some options traders may think its shares have bottomed.

The private lender and asset manager reported better-than-expected results last week. $OWL pushed higher, and this unusual options activity followed yesterday:

• About 10,000 28-August 10 puts were sold for $0.30 and $0.25 against traded against open interest of just 176 contracts. 
• Shortly after, a series of transactions appeared in the 28-August 10.50 puts. Volume of 68,052 was more than 200 times open interest. They were also apparently sold for $0.45 to $0.30.

Puts fix the price where a security can be sold. Traders often buy them to profit from downside, but they can also be sold to collect premium. That strategy, known as writing puts, generates income while exposing the investor to downside risk.

In the case of Monday's activity, the sellers of the 10 puts will have to buy shares for $10 if they're at or below that level on expiration. The 10.50s would obligate investors to buy at or below $10.50. In both cases, the premiums collected would lower their breakeven levels.

OWL rose 8.35 percent to $11.16 yesterday and has climbed from below $9 in late June. The stock lost more than half its value between early 2025 and April 2026 on worries about fund withdrawals and credit risk in software firms. However, it has stabilized since April and beaten estimates for three straight quarters.

Given the long and significant pullback, Monday's put selling may reflect optimism about OWL's business. It also shows investors are willing to own the stock between $10 and $10.50. That price area matches last week's highs following the last set of numbers.

Yesterday's overall option volume was 7 times greater than average, according TradeStation data.

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