HCA options flow: unusual options activity in HCA Healthcare, Inc.
Updated 28 September 2026, 09:54 ET
Over the last week the tape recorded 18 unusual options prints in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA), $1.1M of tracked premium, close to even between bullish and bearish premium. Bullish premium was $529K against $477K bearish; $835K went into calls and $290K into puts, a put call ratio of 0.35. The largest print was $179K of HCA 18 Dec 2026 $440 puts on 25 September 2026, swept at ask. The last session with prints, 25 September 2026, added 2 prints and $207K of premium. HCA closed at $435.61 on 25 September 2026, up 2.9%.
This week's unusual flow
Prints from 21 September 2026 to 25 September 2026, 4 sessions. Delayed tier: every print is shown twenty minutes after it executed, and the page is rebuilt after each session.
Net premium is bullish minus bearish premium. The put call ratio is put premium divided by call premium, weighted by money rather than by contract count. Sweeps is the share of prints executed across several exchanges at once. Read the guide: Reading the Pulse.
Largest prints of the week
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $440 puts | Sweep | 57 | 9 | $179K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $450 calls | Sweep | 51 | 314 | $117K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 16 Oct 2026 $440 calls | Trade | 79 | 280 | $108K | At bid | Bearish | |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 16 Oct 2026 $440 calls | Sweep | 70 | 280 | $89K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 21 Sep 2026 | HCA 16 Oct 2026 $395 puts | Sweep | 373 | 30 | $86K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | HCA 21 Jan 2028 $450 calls | Trade | 11 | 139 | $78K | At bid | Bearish | |
| 24 Sep 2026 | HCA 21 Jan 2028 $450 calls | Trade | 9 | 139 | $63K | At bid | Neutral | |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 16 Oct 2026 $460 calls | Sweep | 107 | 542 | $61K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $395 calls | Sweep | 10 | 17 | $58K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 21 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $370 calls | Sweep | 8 | 11 | $54K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 22 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $500 calls | Sweep | 64 | 50 | $44K | At ask | Bullish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | HCA 19 Mar 2027 $500 calls | Trade | 17 | 71 | $31K | At ask | Neutral |
Size above open interest means the trade opened a position larger than everything that existed in the contract the night before. Above ask and below bid are the most aggressive executions. Read the guide: Size versus open interest.
Where the money is aimed
| Expiry | Prints | Premium | Calls share | Net premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 2026 | 6 | $477K | 63% | +$94K |
| 16 Oct 2026 | 7 | $423K | 74% | -$16K |
| 21 Jan 2028 | 2 | $142K | 100% | -$78K |
| 19 Mar 2027 | 1 | $31K | 100% | +$0 |
| 17 Jun 2027 | 1 | $27K | 100% | +$27K |
| 15 Jan 2027 | 1 | $25K | 100% | +$25K |
The most premium, $477K, is aimed at the 18 Dec 2026 expiry; the nearest expiry with unusual prints is 16 Oct 2026.
A print in a contract expiring this week is a view about the next few days, often about a known event; a print months out is a different kind of statement. Read the guide: 0DTE options flow.
The last session, 25 September 2026
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2026 | HCA 18 Dec 2026 $440 puts | Sweep | 57 | 9 | $179K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 25 Sep 2026 | HCA 16 Oct 2026 $430 calls | Trade | 20 | 575 | $28K | At ask | Bullish |
Every print in HCA with its full detail, the live tape, one tap filters and saved screeners: open HCA in Options Sentiment Screener.
Price
The live quote and the price chart sit beside the ticker's flow in the app: open HCA in Options Sentiment Screener.
Analysts
The most recent analyst targets on file, from 18 firms, have a median of $455, 4.5% above the last close. The last 90 days brought 1 downgrade.
Calls bought at a strike above the average target are a bet that the analysts are too cautious; puts far below the price in a name they like are protection or a strong disagreement. Read the guide: Reading one ticker's flow.
About HCA Healthcare, Inc.
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Sector
- Health Care
- Industry
- Healthcare
- Headquarters
- NASHVILLE, Tennessee
- Website
- hcahealthcare.com
HCA Healthcare, Inc. provides health care services company in the United States. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 182 hospitals, including 175 general and acute care hospitals, five psychiatric hospitals, and two rehabilitation hospitals. The company operates inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services.
In the same sector
Flow pages for other Health Care names in the S&P 500:
LLY Eli Lilly & Co.JNJ Johnson & JohnsonABBV AbbVie Inc.MRK Merck & Co. Inc.UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc.TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.AMGN Amgen Inc.GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Learn
- What unusual options activity means
- Reading one ticker's flow
- Sweeps, blocks and where a trade printed
- Size versus open interest
- Bullish or bearish, how a print's sentiment is inferred
- The conviction score and whale prints
The live tape for HCA with every print's execution detail, one tap filters for calls, puts, sweeps and 0DTE, saved screeners and, for Realtime subscribers, push alerts and no delay. The same screen is in the iOS and Android apps.
Open HCA in Options Sentiment Screener