New York, June 10, 2026, 13:52 (EDT)
- Webull was up 11.9% to $6.16 in recent trading, with volume running above its usual average.
- The latest push seems tied to strong short-term call option buying, rather than any fresh earnings news.
- The bigger issue is if easier day-trading rules will boost Webull’s transactions enough to make up for higher costs.
Webull Corporation shares surged on Nasdaq Wednesday, with BULL up 11.9% to $6.16 at 1:52 p.m. in New York. The stock started at $5.41, hit $6.24, and volume reached 15.26 million—already over its 12.86 million average. The pop wasn’t driven by a new outlook or buyout chatter. Instead, traders piled back in, chasing moves in the volatile retail broker.
Webull call options saw heavy action intraday, according to The Fly via TipRanks. Traders bought 57,626 calls, about triple the usual level. Implied volatility on the name was up more than four points to 66.97%. Most of the volume was in weekly June 12 calls with $6 and $6.50 strikes. Call options profit if shares go up. Implied volatility tracks expected moves priced in by the market.
Short-dated call buying tends to push itself higher. Dealers selling those calls may hedge by picking up the shares, which often drives a rising stock up more. But the move isn’t one way: if BULL fails to pass the main strike levels, the same quick trades can unwind fast. The put/call ratio that was reported, 0.08, means there were far more calls than puts—bullish on the surface, but it doesn’t mean the fundamentals changed overnight.
A big options flurry hit less than a week after FINRA’s new intraday margin rules kicked in, directly affecting Webull clients. The new standards started June 4, dropping the old “pattern day trader” rules, which had a trade-count check and made day traders keep at least $25,000 in equity. FINRA said some brokers can have more time, letting those firms phase in the changes until October 20, 2027. FINRA
Webull is pushing the change. Its customer page reads “No more $25k minimum” and “No more day trade limits.” The broker explains the previous rule capped accounts with less than $25,000 at three day trades over five business days. In April, Anthony Denier, group president and U.S. CEO, called the intraday margin rule update “a meaningful evolution in how active traders can participate in the markets.” Webull PR Newswire
BULL’s move is drawing attention along with other retail brokers like Robinhood and Interactive Brokers, not just as another fintech surge. Benzinga called the June 4 rule shift a possible win for these brokers, since it lifts a long-time rule that limited frequent trades in small margin accounts.
Webull’s numbers are moving up, but the topline still has to follow. In its first-quarter report, Webull said customer assets rose 90% from a year ago to $24 billion. Registered users climbed 15% to 27.6 million, funded accounts hit 5.1 million, equity notional volume jumped 104% to $261 billion, and option-contract volume rose 31% to 159 million. DARTs, or daily average revenue trades, increased 42% to 1.3 million.
Cost remains an issue. Webull’s first-quarter revenue jumped 36% from a year earlier to $159.9 million. But total operating expenses rose even faster, up 68%, mostly from higher marketing, brokerage and transaction costs, product expansion and share-based compensation. Webull reported a net loss of $21.7 million for the quarter, after posting net income last year. Adjusted net income was $9.2 million.
There was a new SEC filing, but it didn’t look like a classic insider buy. On June 9, a Form 4 posted that director Walter A. Bishop got 12,500 Class A ordinary shares through restricted share units, and received 29,584 more RSUs, which are set to vest on June 8, 2027. Settlement will be put off until he leaves the company. The filing did not report any open-market cash purchase.
Webull’s capital-return plan is out, with the company authorizing up to $100 million in buybacks back in April. Buybacks could happen on the open market or by other approved methods, with funding from existing cash or future cash flow. Webull said it isn’t required to buy any set number of shares and could change, pause or end the plan at any point.
Today’s rally is at risk of being driven by options activity in a stock that’s still showing what it can do on public earnings. Webull itself warns that volumes in equity and options trading jump around with the market, which makes it tough to pin down revenue. In its risk disclosures, the company also flags dependence on trading-related income, including payment for order flow. It also lists competition, more regulatory scrutiny, global expansion, cybersecurity and possible dilution from securities activity as risks.
BULL has already shown it can jump on heavy call buying. Now the question is if the changes to trading rules after June 4 will actually drive lasting customer action, more transaction revenue, and improved operating leverage when Webull posts its next quarterly numbers.
