Amprius Technologies (AMPX) Wheel Strategy Research
By The Pie , independent options and small-cap research
Published
The Pie is the Nickelpie research desk, not a licensed financial adviser. Nickelpie publishes educational analysis, not personalized investment advice.
| Price | $9.24 | Today | -$0.67 (-6.76%) |
| 52-week range | $6.07 - $24.23 | Position in range | 17% |
| 100 shares cost | $924 | Market cap | $1.4B |
Where Amprius trades right now
As of July 24, 2026, Amprius Technologies (AMPX) trades at $9.24, well off its $24.23 one-year high but comfortably above its $6.07 low. 100 shares cost about $920. Its double-digit single-session swings are the key wheel fact: this is a volatile, sentiment-sensitive name where the premium is fat because the price swings hard, but underneath the volatility is a business with real, fast- growing revenue, which sets it apart from pure-story small-caps.
The business, verified against its filings
Amprius makes a silicon-anode battery (its "SiCore" line) with higher energy density than conventional graphite cells, selling into drones, defense, aviation, and light electric vehicles. Its recent results are genuinely strong for a company this size:
- Q1 2026 revenue of about $28.5 million, up roughly 2.5x from a year earlier.
- A net loss of about $5.0 million for the quarter, narrower than the prior year.
- Full-year 2026 guidance of at least $130 million of revenue, a net loss below $8 million, and positive non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of at least $4 million.
- About $62 million of cash and no debt at quarter-end.
- A $21 million purchase order from a China-based light-EV customer for its SiCore cells.
Figures from Amprius's Q1 2026 results (company release / SEC 8-K, reported mid-2026). Verify against the latest filing before relying on them.
The honest catch
The bull case is that this is a real, scaling revenue story with a differentiated product and a path to profitability, rare among small-cap battery names. The bear case is execution and volatility: hitting ~$130 million for the year requires a large manufacturing ramp, and scale-ups can slip on cost or yield. And regardless of fundamentals, AMPX trades like a high-beta small-cap, double-digit single-day moves are normal here. That volatility is exactly why the option premium is fat, and exactly why you should size any position for big swings.
Support levels and a candidate put strike
After the drop, reference support sits near $9 and $8, with the 52-week low of $6.07 as a deeper floor. A wheel seller wanting a lower entry might study a cash-secured put near the strike named in the panel above, read off the live chain rather than chosen from round numbers. The premium looks generous because the stock is volatile, verify it on your live chain, size it for the swings, and model the setup with the wheel calculator.
The put the chain supports, AMPX
Closest to 0.25 delta between 21 and 45 days, with at least 10 contracts of open interest. Source: CBOE delayed quotes, 2026-07-25 15:59:31. Delayed data, and it will have moved.
The contract
$8.00 put
Aug 14, 2026, 21 days out, 0.25 delta
You are paid
$35
$0.35 bid × 100, against $800 of collateral
Yield
4.4%
over 21 days, 76% if repeated all year
Selling this put obligates you to buy 100 shares at $8.00 if AMPX is below that on Aug 14, 2026. That strike is 13.4% below the $9.24 close, and because you keep the premium either way your effective cost if assigned is $7.65. Open interest on the contract is 25, and implied volatility is 113%.
How to read this. This is the contract nearest our published convention that also clears a liquidity floor. It is not the highest premium on the board. The fattest premium always sits on the strike most likely to be assigned, which is the opposite of what this entry is for. The annualised figure assumes the same trade repeats every cycle at the same price, which it will not, so treat it as a way to compare two expiries rather than a return you should expect. Quotes are delayed and the chain moves constantly: verify on your broker's live chain before acting. This is educational research, not advice, and not a recommendation to sell this or any option.
Insider activity, AMPX
SEC Form 4 filings since Jul 25, 2025. Source: SEC EDGAR, pulled Jul 25, 2026.
Open-market buys
$0.00
0 transactions
Open-market sales
$85.18M
36 transactions, 7 insiders
Net open-market activity: -$85.18M. A further 62 filings were stock grants, option exercises or shares withheld to pay vesting tax. Those are not purchases or sales, so they are excluded from the totals above.
| Date | Insider | Action | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | DIXON DONALD RDirector | Sold | 85,000 | $17.17 |
| Jun 9, 2026 | DIXON DONALD RDirector | Sold | 40,000 | $19.13 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | Stepien Thomas MDirector, Chief Executive Officer | Sold | 2,000 | $20.97 |
| May 27, 2026 | Sun KangDirector | Sold | 356 | $17.19 |
| May 27, 2026 | Stepien Thomas MDirector, Chief Executive Officer | Sold | 4,375 | $17.19 |
| May 27, 2026 | Stefan Constantin IonelChief Technology Officer | Sold | 3,208 | $17.19 |
How to read this. A purchase is the only line here that costs an insider their own money, which is why buying is the rarer and more meaningful signal. Selling is weaker evidence in either direction: insiders sell to diversify, to pay tax, or because a post-IPO lockup expired, and none of that is a view on the price. Where shares are held through a fund, the fund and its affiliated director each file the same sale, so we count matching filings once. This is disclosure history, not a prediction, and not advice.
Disclaimer. Nickelpie and its principals may buy, hold, or sell AMPX or any security discussed at any time, and may have a position now. No one compensates us for covering AMPX. This analysis is drawn from public information and is educational only. Ratings are impersonal opinions as of the publication date, not personalized advice, and we are not obliged to update them. Do your own research and consider your own situation and risk tolerance. See our disclosures.
Common questions
Is Amprius (AMPX) a good stock for the wheel strategy?
It's a higher-volatility growth candidate, not an income name. Unlike many small-cap stories, Amprius has real, fast-growing revenue: Q1 2026 revenue rose ~2.5x year over year to about $28.5 million, and management guided full-year 2026 revenue to at least $130 million with positive adjusted EBITDA.
100 shares near $9 cost about $920, and options pay fat premium because the stock is volatile, it can move double digits in a day. Size it for that volatility.
What put strike could a wheel seller consider on Amprius?
With AMPX near $9.24 after a pullback, a seller wanting a lower entry might look near $9 ($900 collateral) or $8($800), with the 52-week low of $6.07 as a deeper reference. Fat premium reflects the volatility, size for the swings and check the live chain.
What are the risks of AMPX?
Execution and volatility. Real momentum, 2.5x revenue growth, a $21M order, and guidance to positive adjusted EBITDA, but it still has to execute a big ramp to hit its ~$130M full-year target, and manufacturing scale-ups can slip. It's also a small-cap that can fall double digits in a day, so the fat premium is payment for volatility, not free income.
More wheel research
- Ford Motor Company (F)At ~$14 with a $10.68-$17.78 range, Ford is one of the most affordable liquid wheel candidates, ~$1,400 per contract.
- AT&T (T)A ~5.2% dividend and a steady $19.89-$29.79 range make AT&T a classic income-oriented wheel name at ~$2,200 per contract.
- Pfizer (PFE)Near the low end of a tight $23.11-$28.75 range with a ~6.9% dividend, a defensive wheel candidate at ~$2,500 per contract.
- eBay (EBAY)A cash-generative, lower-volatility marketplace near its highs, a quality wheel name, but ~$11,000 per contract puts it out of small-account range.
- GameStop (GME)Huge cash pile, elevated implied volatility, and a ~$2,200 contract, GME pays fat premium, and that premium is a warning as much as an opportunity.
- Archer Aviation (ACHR)Pre-revenue eVTOL near $4.77 after a 19.6% jump on 4x volume on the Anduril autonomous-aircraft news. The one name here where the signal says sell calls, not puts.
- Infleqtion (INFQ)Newly public quantum pure-play near $8.97, 54% off its high. Revenue actually compounding ($10.9M to $28.8M to $33.6M) and three DOE Genesis Mission awards in July.
- Valens Semiconductor (VLN)A $187M chipmaker near $1.63 holding $78M of net cash, so 42% of the share price is cash. Real revenue of $70.7M at 62% gross margin, but still lossmaking.
- Quantum eMotion (QNC)A quantum-cybersecurity story near $2.09 with $37M of cash and a real NIST certification in progress, but only $21,753 of trailing revenue and an option chain that barely trades.
- Sidus Space (SIDU)A ~$180M space micro-cap near $2. After roughly $170M of raises, cash is close to $1.78 a share against a $1.85 price, but revenue has fallen four years running.
Before trading options, read the OCC's Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Past performance does not predict future results.