Today's Options Market Update

After investors shied from risk yesterday, they began to tentatively re-embrace it this morning as Bitcoin (/BTC) and tech stocks advanced ahead of the open. Today lacks major data before numbers pick up with a private sector jobs report tomorrow, while this afternoon brings earnings from two smaller tech players: Marvell Technology (MRVL) and CrowdStrike (CRWD). Salesforce (CRM) reports tomorrow afternoon.

There's a bit of near-term hedging in the market, reflected in yesterday's 5% Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) gains before a pullback early today. This could reflect worries about a potential rate hike in Japan later this month, which might cause investors there to repatriate money by selling U.S. stocks and bonds. Treasury yields spiked yesterday and climbed today to 4.11% for the benchmark 10-year note, well above recent lows near 4%. A jump in the prices-paid component of November's ISM Manufacturing Index raised inflation concerns and contributed to the yield rise, though investors still see an 87% chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

On Monday, stocks declined moderately to end a five-session winning streak for the S&P 500® index, hurt partly by a big drop in cryptocurrency values that might reflect declining speculative sentiment. Investors will likely watch this afternoon's earnings for AI and tech demand trends after a solid outing from MongoDB (MDB) sent shares of that software firm soaring early today, while crypto could again help direct traffic.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is little changed at 4.10%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is higher by 0.018 to 99.425.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is little changed at $59.34/barrel.

Gold prices have traded in a range of $4,210.20-$4,269.20 and were last seen trading lower by ~1.27% to $4,219.50/oz.

Natural Gas prices have traded in a range of $4.83-4.984 today and were last seen trading lower by 0.51% to $4.896.

Bitcoin (BTC) is bouncing back by ~4.70% to $90,361.91 today.

Joining the 52-week high club this morning is MongoDB Inc. (MDB + $89.13 to $418.00) after the document database company reported Q3 earnings of $1.32 per share ($0.52 beat) on revenue that rose 19% year-over-year (YoY) to $628.31M (above the $591.52M expected). The company also raised guidance as full fiscal-year 2026 EPS is now expected to come in a range of $4.76-4.80 (from $3.64-3.73) and FY26 revenue that is now expected to come in a range of $2.43-2.44B (from $2.34-2.36B). Calls and puts are trading roughly even with the December 5^th 400.00 put seeing the most action from traders (volume is 4,920).

Also trading to the upside this morning is Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO + $27.70 to $198.80) after the provider of high-speed connectivity solutions for optical and electrical Ethernet applications reported fiscal Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.67 ($0.18 beat) on revenue that increased 20.2% quarter-over-quarter and 272% YoY to $268.027M (above the $234.917M expected). The company also provided upbeat guidance as Q3 revenue is expected to come in a range of $335-345M versus the $247.03M analysts were expecting. Calls and puts are trading roughly even with the December 5^th 210.00 call leading the way (volume is 2,068).

New 52-week highs (82 new highs today): Apple Inc. (AAPL + $2.88 to $285.98), Enersys Inc. (ENS + $2.03 to $144.55), Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC + $0.36 to $215.49)

Some unusual call activity (~20:1 calls over puts) is being seen in Teladoc Health Inc. (TDOC + $0.01 to $7.45) as option traders primarily target the December 5^th 8.00 call. Volume on this contract is 17,619 versus open interest of 1,770, so we know that the volume primarily represents new positioning. The bulk of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $0.03-0.08 each, which suggests bullish intent.

Shares of Citi Trends Inc. (CTRN - $1.40 to $42.67) are moving lower this morning after the value retailer reported a Q3 adjusted loss of $0.88 per share ($0.09 miss) on revenue that increased 10.1% YoY to $197.1M (above the $192.734M expected) as Q3 comparable same-store sales increased 10.8% YoY. Looking ahead, the company said that full-year comparable same-store sales are expected to be up high single-digits (on the high end of prior outlook) with full-year EBITDA expected to come in a range of $10-12M (also above prior forecast). Option volume is relatively light at the time of this writing with the February 2026 40.00 call being the highest volume contract (volume is 100).

Also trading to the downside this morning is Symbotic Inc. (SYM - $11.90 to $73.40) after Goldman Sachs downgraded the automation technology company to “Sell” from “Neutral” and put a $47.00 price target on the stock, citing valuation and concerns about the company’s customer base and cash flow prospects. Calls are outnumbering puts ~4:3 with the December 5^th 77.00 call garnering the most attention from traders (volume is 979).

New 52-week lows (28 new lows today): Energizer Holdings Inc. (ENR - $0.14 to $17.22), Janux Therapeutics Inc. (JANX - $16.36 to $17.63), Linde PLC (LIN - $0.48 to $406.66)

Some unusual put activity (~20:1 puts over calls) is being seen in StubHub Holdings Inc. (STUB - $0.09 to $10.99) as option traders primarily target the January 16^th 2026 10.00 put. Volume on this contract is 10,414 versus open interest of 2,909, so we know that the volume primarily represents new positioning. The majority of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought around the same time at the ask price of $0.80 each, which suggests bearish intent.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC (CNTA - $0.09 to $28.38): Option volume is running at ~40x the daily average on this clinical-stage pharmaceutical company which is primarily driven by a 4,500 contract block that was bought on the December 19^th 30.00 call for $1.25 when the bid/ask spread was $0.95 x $1.30 (open interest is 1,577). We know that this block is a new position based on the open interest figure, and we can assume that the intent is bullish in nature since the trade took place above the midpoint of the bid/ask spread.

Freshworks Inc. (FRSH + $0.16 to $12.02): Option volume is running at ~17x the daily average on this software development company as option traders primarily target the December 1^9th 12.50 call. Volume on this contract is 10,763 versus open interest of 3,065, so we know that the volume primarily represents new positioning. The majority of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $0.35-0.40 each, which suggests bullish intent.

Five Below Inc. (FIVE - $1.97 to $159.82): Option volume is running at ~10x the daily average on this specialty value retailer which is primarily being driven a couple of large blocks that simultaneously traded on the January 16^th 2026 expiration earlier this morning:

• 165.00 call (open interest is 96): A 1,250 contract block was bought at the ask price of $10.80.
• 200.00 call (open interest is 1,076): A 2,500 contract block was sold for $2.00 when the bid/ask spread was $1.80 x $3.60.

We know that these blocks are new positions based on the respective open interest figures, and it appears that a call front spread was established for a net debit of $6.80 (x 1,250 contracts x 100 multiplier, excluding commissions). The positioning suggests that the block trader believes that FIVE will close above the break-even price of $171.80 at expiration. FIVE is scheduled to report Q3 earnings tomorrow (December 3^rd) after the bell, so this positioning captures the potential impact of that event.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 0.26 to 16.98) has been on both sides of the unchanged line today (the intraday range is 16.39-17.31), as equity markets are higher around the midday mark (DJI + 146, SPX + 9, COMP + 89). VIX option volume is average today at 323,238 contracts, and the activity has been modestly call-biased so far today.