Today's Options Market Update

Major indexes tried to mount a recovery early today after a private employment measure showed better-than-expected October jobs growth. The data came after stocks struggled Tuesday without help from the chip sector, which plunged and continued to edge down this morning as investors expressed disappointment with results from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Private sector jobs growth last month totaled 42,000, the ADP employment report said, above Briefing.com's consensus of 26,000 and a 29,000 drop in September. ADP doesn't typically correlate with official government data due this Friday, which likely won't be released due to the shutdown. Jobs growth was bifurcated. "Small businesses continue to feel pain as companies with one – 19 employees saw a net loss of 15,000," said Kevin Gordon, Schwab's head of macro research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "The largest companies were on top with a 74,000 gain." Yields rose after the news.

Major indexes suffered their worst session in nearly a month Tuesday as tech shares dove on worries about AI valuations. Dip buying failed to emerge. "Markets have been moving higher on the same good news, including trade agreements, a dovish Fed, a strong economy, and the AI secular growth story for months now, and perhaps some mean reversion is needed," said Nathan Peterson, director of derivatives analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. He noted that Palantir (PLTR) easily beat earnings expectations but fell 8% anyway. "Market psychology comes into play here, because if these types of AI growth stocks are going to sell off on good news, how much are they going to go down on bad news?" Peterson said.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is higher by 7 bps 4.16%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is unchanged at 100.22.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is lower by 8.58% to 17.37.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is down by 1.24% to $59.83/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by 2.77%, trading at $103,805.

Ethereum (ETH) is rallying by 6.50% today to $3,435.

Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN + $1.57 to $14.07) are up over 12.00% today after the company reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss of 65 cents a share in Q3. That's better than the loss of 71 cents per share that analysts had expected. Higher third-quarter EV deliveries helped boost revenue 78% from a year earlier to about $1.56 billion, topping Wall Street estimates (per Bloomberg). The company sold more than 13,000 EVs in the period, perhaps helped by consumers rushing to secure the $7,500 U.S. tax credit before it expired on Sept. 30. Rivian also said cost cutting measures helped reduce nearly $19,000 of expenses on a per-vehicle basis year over year. 

Rivian expects to deliver 41,500 to 43,400 vehicles in 2025, implying fourth-quarter sales of about 10,000 vehicles, down 30% year over year. It's 2026 that likely has investors more excited, as Rivian is on track for deliveries of its highly anticipated new midsize R2 SUV in the first half. For 2026, Wall Street expects sales of about 73,000 vehicles.

Option trading in RIVN currently stands at 142,168 contracts, 8x the average daily volume with calls outpacing puts 3:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 7th, 2025, 14.00 call accounted for 14,614 contracts; open interest is 12,605 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 15.00 call accounted for 6,978 contracts; open interest is 14,074 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 14.50 call accounted for 7,012 contracts; open interest is 8,104 contracts.

New 52-week highs (108 new highs today): Solid Power Inc. (SLDP + $2.92 to $8.52), Cipher Mining Inc. (CIFR + $2.49 to $25.00), Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA + $3.87 to $24.33), Digital Turbine (APPS + $2.15 to $8.07), Lemonade Inc. (LMND + $15.83 to $74.49)

Unusual call activity is noted today in Kimberly Clark Corp. (KMB - $0.64 to $100.00), as call volume currently stands at 27,874 contracts, 9x the average daily volume and 20x the put volume. Activity is greatest in the November 28th, 2025, expiration month where the 105.00 strike calls have generated particular interest, trading over 14,916 contracts. A large block order to buy 10,000 of the 105.00 strike calls for $1.75 transacted when the bid/ask was $0.90 x $1.75. We know this constitutes new positioning based on the open interest of 99 contracts (suggesting bullish intent). Shares of KMB have cratered over 17% in the past week, following the company's last earnings report and KVUE acquisition announcement.

Another name exhibiting unusual activity today is Utz Brands Inc. (UTZ + $0.24 to $10.36), as call volume has spiked to 24,475 contracts in morning trading, 410x daily average. Nearly all the volume can be attributed to the November 21st, 2025, expiration, specifically at the 12.50 call strike. Trades have been two-ways, both buys and sells, with the primary action on the buy side. This is primarily new positioning, given the open interest of 262 contracts (suggesting bullish intent). Shares of UTZ hit a 52-week low price of $10.07 yesterday following the company's earnings release last week.

Shares of Pinterest Inc. (PINS - $6.98 to $25.93) are plunging today, down over 20.00%, their biggest intraday decline since May 2022, after the company issued a weak revenue forecast for Q4. Bloomberg is reporting that the company expects revenue to be $1.31 billion to $1.34 billion, with the midpoint of that range below the average analyst estimate of $1.34 billion. Pinterest cited tariffs affecting the home furnishings category as one of the reasons for the lowered forecast.

Pinterest also reported 600 million monthly active users for Q3, beating analyst estimates of 590 million total users. However, Pinterest tallied just 103 million monthly users in the U.S. and Canada, only up one million from the previous quarter. These segments are important, as they generate roughly 75% of Pinterest's revenue, per Bloomberg.
Option trading in PINS currently stands at 109,497 contracts in morning trading, on pace for 6x the daily average, with calls outpacing puts 1.5:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 7th, 2025, 26.00 put accounted for 7,015 contracts; open interest is 8,369 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 24.00 put accounted for 6,137 contracts; open interest is 5,445 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 38.00 call accounted for 5,206 contracts; open interest is 10,498 contracts.

New 52-week lows (131 new lows today): Biohaven Ltd. (BHVN - $5.23 to $8.72), Beyond Air Inc. (XAIR - $0.13 to $1.73), Trex Company (TREX - $13.11 to $33.93), Geron Corp. (GERN - $0.11 to $1.04)

There is unusual put activity today in Lyft Inc. (LYFT + $0.78 to $20.20). This activity equates to over 112,211 put contracts, 20x average daily put volume. Nearly all the activity can be attributed to the November 7th, 2025, expiration month, specifically at the 14.50 put strike where 104,493 contracts have been sold through multiple large block orders at a price of $0.01 when the bid/ask was $0.01 x $0.02. We know this represents new positioning given the open interest of 28,515 contracts (suggesting neutral to bullish intent). Lyft will report earnings after today's close, so this is an interesting transaction which indicates traders don't believe the shares are likely to drop below $14.00 before this Friday's expiration, considering the small credit they are willing to receive.

Unusual activity has also been detected in Sunrun Inc. (SUN + $1.64 to $20.70), as put volume stands at 45,486 contracts in morning trading, 28x average daily volume. Traders sold a large block of 40,000 puts in the September 18th, 2025, expiration month at the 15.00 strike. The sale price for the puts was $2.95 when the bid/ask was $2.82 x $3.55, closer to the bid. With only 73 contracts of open interest, we know this represents new positioning (suggesting neutral to bullish intent). Sunrun is slated to report its earnings after tomorrow's market close.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 1.63 to 17.37) is down 8.58% in morning trading, as equity markets are up across the board (DJI + 191, SPX + 43, COMPX + 210). VIX movement has occurred within a wide range today (the intraday range is 17.33 – 20.02). The highest volume contract is currently the November 19th, 26.00 call (volume is 35,331 vs. open interest of 254,512).