Today's Options Market Update

It's the first Friday of the month, but thanks to the shutdown in Washington, investors won't get their usual dose of jobs data. Stocks rose again despite congressional leaders saying there won't be a vote to break the logjam today or over the weekend. An impasse that lasts through mid-month would likely put October data collection in jeopardy, meaning investors could face the first Friday of November with no jobs report, as well.

There is data today, however, with the ISM Services PMI^® at 10 a.m. ET. The services sector grew for three consecutive months through August as consumers continued to spend despite a soft labor market and pressure from inflation. Consensus expects the September reading to be in line with the prior month, but still in expansion territory at 52% (a reading of 50% or above is needed to show expansion). While services likely held up in September, that was before the shutdown. The roughly 750,000 federal workers currently being furloughed, unpaid, or laid off entirely could affect discretionary spending and retail sales numbers as consumer-facing firms enter the all-important fourth quarter.

Despite uncertainty on The Hill—and the lack of weekly jobless claims numbers and August factory orders—the S&P 500 index reached another record of 6731.94 and closed 0.1% higher on Thursday, off its opening peak. Strength was narrow, though, as seven of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in the red. Energy and consumer discretionary brought up the rear, while materials, information technology, and industrials helped bolster broader market indexes as the AI-driven rally continued. After the weekend, focus could linger on D.C., with key data and earnings sparse Monday and Tuesday.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is up by 2 bps to 4.11%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is slightly lower at 97.77.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is up slightly to 16.87.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is higher by 1.14% to $61.16/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by 1.09%, trading at $123,135.

Ethereum (ETH) is lower by 0.67% today to $4,506.

Shares of Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT + $4.67 to $24.65) are up over 23.00% today, a 52-week high, after Ascendiant Capital Markets analyst Edward Woo, reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and boosted his price target to $40 from $22. That could be a lofty goal, considering Quantum just reported its Q2 earnings results in August with revenue of $61,000 and an EPS of $0.26, topping estimates for $0.06. In addition, Quantum Computing has already gained 2,757% in the past twelve months.

As of Q2, Quantum Computing has $349 million in cash and no debt on its balance sheet. Per Dow Jones, in September, the company announced a $500 million private placement, saying it planned to issue nearly 26.9 million shares to several large existing shareholders as well as a new investor.

Option trading in QUBT currently stands at 335,264 contracts, 15x the daily average, with calls outpacing puts 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• October 10th, 2025, 25.5 call accounted for 41,064 contracts; open interest is 8 contracts.
• October 3rd, 2025, 19.50 call accounted for 27,979 contracts; open interest is 28,994 contracts.
• October 10th, 2025, 24.50 call accounted for 22,429 contracts; open interest is 69 contracts.

New 52-week highs (317 new highs today): Plug Power Inc. (PLUG + $0.95 to $3.78), Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC + $1.98 to $8.84), Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT + $4.67 to $24.65), Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI + $3.76 to $39.16), Intel Corp. (INTC + $0.07 to $37.37)

Unusual call activity is noted today in iRobot Corp. (IRBT + $0.57 to $4.56), as call volume currently stands at 12,980 contracts, 30x the average daily volume and 15x the put volume. Activity is greatest in the October 10th, and October 17th, 2025, expiration months where the 4.50, 5.00 and 5.50 calls have traded over 8,000 contracts collectively, primarily on the buy side. These appear to be new positions, given the collective open interest of 1,200 contracts (suggesting bullish intent). Shares of IRBT have been extremely volatile this past year, ranging from January's 52-week high price of $13.06 to the April low price of $1.76.

Another name exhibiting unusual activity today is Albertsons Corp. (ACI + $0.03 to $17.38), as call volume has spiked to 12,152 contracts in morning trading, 7x daily average. The November 21st, 2025, expiration is generating a significant amount of interest, specifically at the 17.00 strike, where 10,700 contracts have traded through multiple block orders. Trading action has become more two-sided in the past hour, after initially looking directionally bullish. Shares of ACI were trading as high as $17.60 on the opening after RBC Capital Markets suggested Albertson's could record a 2% increase in identical sales for the second quarter, up from its previous expectations for a 1.8% rise.

Shares of Las Vegas Corp. (LVS - $3.60 to $51.45) are down over 6.50% today, on pace for their largest percentage drop since April, after China's ministry of tourism released passenger data for the first two days of Golden Week, a national holiday meant to encourage domestic travel and stimulate the economy. The data suggested total volume increased 1.8% from the prior year, with railway and waterway travel seeing the most growth, increasing 6.9% and 17.3%, respectively, Citi Research wrote on Thursday. Investors may be fearing the weaker travel numbers may negatively impact Las Vegas Sand's casino and hotel businesses in Macau. Macau is one of the world's largest gambling hubs and Las Vegas Sands operates the largest hotel in the region, the Venetian Macau.

Option trading in LVS currently stands at 31,605 contracts in morning trading, on pace for 4x the daily average, with calls and puts basically even. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• October 17th, 2025, 50.00 put accounted for 4,060 contracts; open interest is 1,444 contracts.
• October 10th, 2025, 53.00 call accounted for 3,098 contracts; open interest is 32 contracts.
• October 10th, 2025, 51.00 call accounted for 2,496 contracts; open interest is 48 contracts.

New 52-week lows (20 new lows today): Bollinger Innovations Inc. (BINI - $0.24 to $1.91), Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM - $2.53 to $102.78), Kinetik Holdings Inc. (KNTK - $1.06 to $38.32), Fact Research Systems Inc. (FDS - $1.33 to $280.55)

There is unusual put activity today in Compass Inc. (COMP + $0.35 to $7.90). This activity equates to over 63,136 put contracts, 101x average daily put volume. Traders are very active in the November 21st, 2025, expiration month, specifically at the 6.00 strike where over 30,000 contracts have traded, mostly on the buy side. One large block purchase of 23,913 contracts was purchased for $0.20 when the bid/ask was $0.15 x $0.20. Open interest was only 6,036 contracts, so we know this represents new positioning (suggesting bearish intent). Shares of COMP have fallen 20% in the past two weeks and appear to have potentially found near-term support at the 200-day SMA.

Another example of unusual put activity occurred today in Newamsterdam Pharma (NAMS + $0.34 to $31.03), as put volume stands at 20,067 contracts in morning trading, 368x average daily volume. Nearly all the volume can be traced to 10,000 November 21st, 2025, put vertical spreads involving the 30.00 and 22.50 strikes. Traders bought the spread for $2.90 when the bid/ask was $1.55 x $2.90. It's possible traders rolled up their long put positions from the 22.50 strike to the 30.00 strike, given the open interest of 10,272 at the 22.50 strike and only 5 at the 30.00 strike. This trade could be a rolling hedge in response to NAMS shares rallying over 35% in the past three weeks.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 0.24 to 16.87) is up 1.44% in morning trading, as equity markets are mixed (DJI + 278, SPX - 6, COMPX - 133). VIX movement has occurred within a narrow range today (the intraday range is 16.20 – 16.95). The highest volume contract is January 21st, 2026, 60.00 call (volume is 103,553 vs. open interest of 85,215).