Meme Mania Rekindles Small-Trader Love Affair With Options

  • Trades involving 10 contracts or fewer have picked up
  • Dealer hedging can accelerate moves in underlying share prices
An "AMC" balloon outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
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Retail traders are storming back into the options market as meme stocks soar.

Trades involving 10 contracts or fewer are rising as a percentage of overall equity-call volume, according to data from the Options Clearing Corp. Such small lots suggest that individual traders are behind the buying, according to Susquehanna International Group.