Fortum Sees Record Options Trade Betting on 17% Rally by Late 2027

A single, massive options trade in Finnish utility Fortum Oyj (FORTUM) has set an all-time volume record, indicating a significant bullish bet on the company's long-term prospects. An investor or institution purchased a block of 60,000 call options with a strike price of €28, expiring in December 2027.

Details of the Record Trade

The transaction, which represented nearly all of the day's 60,030 call contracts traded, was opened on zero prior open interest, signaling a newly initiated position of institutional scale. For the bet to be profitable at expiration, Fortum's stock, which traded around €23.99 at the time of the trade, would need to rally more than 17% over the next 15 months.

This target sits well above current price targets from major investment banks, including JPMorgan's €24.30 and Goldman Sachs' €25.50.

Catalysts Driving Interest

This unusual options activity follows two key developments for the Nordic energy company:

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• Alphabet Power Deal: On September 9, Fortum announced a 22-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Alphabet's (GOOGL) data centers with 500 MW of nuclear power from its Loviisa plant. The stock surged 15.82% on the news.
• Analyst Upgrades: Following the PPA announcement, both JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs upgraded their ratings on Fortum from Sell/Underweight to Neutral.

Market data further supports a bullish interpretation. Options skew, which measures the relative demand for puts versus calls, shifted significantly toward calls, while put volume remained negligible. This suggests strong demand for upside exposure with little corresponding interest in hedging against a potential decline.

A Long-Term Structural Bet

The December 2027 expiration date appears deliberately chosen to encompass several key milestones for Fortum. This timeline covers the expected ramp-up of Google's data centers in Finland, a decision point for the Loviisa nuclear plant's life extension, and the period over which earnings growth from new power agreements is expected to materialize.

Goldman Sachs noted in its upgrade that its financial models do not yet include the potential for 5 GW of future development for data centers and industrial sites. The options trader may be positioning for this long-term optionality, betting that the market is still underpricing the full economic impact of Fortum's strategic shift toward providing large-scale, carbon-free power.