Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) saw an unusually large directional wager on Thursday: traders bought 11,464 call options — roughly 660% above the name’s average call volume. The transaction represents a concentrated, short-term bullish bet on a jeweler whose fundamentals and dividend profile are drawing renewed attention.

  • Price (midday): $83.20
  • Call options bought: 11,464
  • Average daily calls: 1,508 (660% increase)
  • Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
  • Market cap: $3.38 billion
  • Dividend: $0.32 quarterly (1.5% yield)

Context: Why options flow matters in 2025

Options volume of this scale carries tactile significance — a discernible shift in the market’s positioning rather than incidental noise. In 2025, investors are pricing retailers not only on classic metrics (earnings, same-store sales) but also on capital-light digital execution, lab-grown diamond acceptance and margin resilience. Signet’s recent beat — $0.63 EPS for the quarter against a $0.16 consensus and raised FY26 guidance in the 8.43–9.59 EPS range — gives context for bullish option activity: traders are buying the asymmetric payoff of calls while the stock trades nearer the low end of its 52-week range ($45.55–$110.20).

Institutional positioning and recent catalysts

Large institutional moves underpin the narrative. Hedge funds and asset managers have been materially increasing exposure: Hood River Capital established a roughly $56.5m stake; Arrowstreet expanded to 861,769 shares after a 321.8% increase; LSV grew its holding by 263.4%. Those shifts coincide with analyst attention — Jefferies lifting its target to $150, Goldman Sachs initiating neutral at $96 — and a dividend that offers modest income while cash-flow dynamics reset.

Market action and company fundamentals

Intraday share activity was muted relative to options flow: SIG traded at $83.20 on volume of ~578,390 shares versus a 1.19m average. The company’s retail mix (Kay, Jared, James Allen, Blue Nile) exposes it to both mall-based traffic and online vitrines — a structural duality that investors in 2025 value for margin optionality. Signet’s revenue trends (up 3.1% year-over-year last quarter) and return on equity (24.4%) supply the concrete anchor to speculative call buying.

Impact: What this means for U.S. retailers and investors

For jewelry retailers and store-level buyers, elevated call activity signals rising investor conviction in Signet’s capacity to convert footfall into higher-margin e-commerce sales and to monetize lab-grown diamond demand without diluting price integrity — a tactile concern for merchandisers balancing inventory heft and per-carat price realization.

For investors and traders, the surge in call purchases is a short-term directional signal: participants are seeking leveraged exposure to upside ahead of catalysts (holiday sales cadence, early-year guidance updates, and analyst revisions). It also raises liquidity considerations — options this large can compress implied vol and alter near-term gamma exposure for market makers, which can accentuate moves in the underlying stock.

In sum: the 11,464-call block is not merely noise. It reflects concentrated bullish positioning against a backdrop of improved earnings, active institutional accumulation and a retail model that is increasingly judged on digital execution and margin resilience. For U.S. retail buyers and portfolio managers, the trade warrants attention — as both an indicator of sentiment and a potential short-term amplifier of price action.

Data: MarketBeat; company filings; intraday market data.

Image Referance: https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/traders-purchase-large-volume-of-signet-jewelers-call-options-nysesig-2025-12-18/