Today's Options Market Update

The earnings-driven boom that lifted stocks to record highs Tuesday took another step forward early today, side-stepping investor disappointment with results from SpaceX (SPCX) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) after both fell sharply despite beating analyst estimates. Away from home, crude oil ticked up following fresh attacks on Middle East shipping by Iran's allies while President Trump said a short-term deal to open the strait may be near.

The earnings parade continued early today, led by Walt Disney (DIS) and Eli Lilly (LLY). Both impressed, judging from early stock moves. Memory chip firms Western Digital (WDC) and Sandisk (SNDK) report later. In data, private sector July jobs growth tracked by ADP fell short of expectations at 44,000, dominated by service sector positions. Analysts had expected 75,000. This precedes Friday's July nonfarm payrolls report that's expected to show 86,000 jobs added, up from 57,000 in June. The government report doesn't often correlate with the ADP data, so today's shortfall doesn't necessarily indicate another one Friday.

Tuesday was among the year's strongest days. Major indexes hit new record highs on hopes of Middle East progress and another round of powerful earnings reports. In a healthy sign that the move might have legs, about 71% of S&P 500 stocks trade above their 200-day moving averages, up from 55% in June when indexes last peaked. This suggests a broader slice of names attracting interest, not just the chip stocks that propelled things last spring. That said, info tech's 4% gain Tuesday provided most of the torque.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is unchanged at 4.64%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is down slightly to 99.74.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is lower by 2.60%, trading at 16.07.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is lower by 0.28% to $75.57/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is up by 0.70% to $64,935.

Ethereum (ETH) is higher by 0.90% to $1,897.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN + $10.39 to $107.99) shares are up roughly 10% today, on pace for their largest percentage gain since April 2025, after the casino operator reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. Wynn posted adjusted EPS of $1.24, ahead of the $1.15 estimate, on operating revenue of $1.86 billion, also above the $1.83 billion consensus. Adjusted property EBITDAR rose 2.9% year over year to $568.3 million, topping the $556.8 million estimate, with Bloomberg attributing the beat to better-than-expected sales and margins at Wynn Palace in Macau.

Management also sounded constructive on the outlook. Executives said "solid" demand fundamentals continued into July, with Las Vegas group and convention bookings accelerating during the month and looking strong into the fourth quarter and 2027. "Full-year '26 group pace remains ahead of '25, so we're pacing well in both room nights and rates," Brian Gullbrants, Wynn's chief operating officer for North America, said on the call.

Analyst reactions were mostly positive as well. Barclays maintained its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $136 from $134, while Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating and lifted its target to $139 from $137.

Option trading in WYNN currently stands at 10,699 contracts, 8x average with calls outpacing puts 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• August 7th, 2026, 98.00 put accounted for 559 contracts; open interest is 639 contracts.
• August 7th, 2026, 98.00 call accounted for 521 contracts; open interest is 530 contracts.
• September 4th, 2026, 107.00 call accounted for 425 contracts; open interest is 10 contracts.

New 52-week highs (245 new highs today): Yxt.com Group (YXT + $12.40 to $15.00), Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA + $2.84 to $27.10), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE + $2.95 to $9.78), Digital Turbine (APPS + $3.04 to $12.55)

Call activity is elevated in Hinge Health Inc. (HNGE + $8.63 to $88.05) today, with 6,865 calls traded—10x average volume and 1.5x put volume. Much of the flow appears tied to a diagonal spread between the September 18th and December 18th, 2026, expirations, as traders paid $0.40 to roll positions from the September 95.00 calls to the December 120.00 calls. The activity follows an earnings beat that sent shares 11% higher, leaving the stock just below its all-time high of $91.50. By moving to a higher strike and later expiration, traders are reducing near-term delta exposure while extending their positioning by roughly 90 days. Because the December 120.00 calls appear to be new short positions, the trade suggests a neutral-to-bearish view at a meaningfully higher strike.

Call activity is also elevated in Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE + $2.95 to $9.78) today, with 5,469 calls traded—140x average volume and 5x put volume. Roughly half of the flow is concentrated in the August 21st, 2026, expiration, led by activity in the 10.00, 12.50, and 15.00 strikes. While trading has been two-sided, the larger trades have been on the buy side and appear likely to be closing short call positions, suggesting bullish intent. Shares of GTE surged to an all-time high of $11.52 earlier in the session after the company announced plans to sell its oil businesses in Colombia and Ecuador for a combined $1.33 billion.

Shares of SpaceX (SPCX - $10.40 to $114.93) are down roughly 8% today after the company's first earnings call as a public company, as investors looked past better-than-expected headline results and focused instead on the scale of spending tied to its artificial intelligence business. Per Bloomberg, capital expenditures surged to $28.5 billion in the first half of the year, more than four times the year-ago level and nearly as much as the amount raised in SpaceX's record June IPO.

CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX is directing the vast majority of its expenditures toward AI, a business that is growing quickly but has not yet scaled enough to match the pace of investment. The company generated $3.38 billion in AI revenue during the first six months of the year, less than half the revenue from its Starlink-centered connectivity business. Still, Bloomberg Intelligence analysis suggests AI could eventually become the company's dominant growth engine, potentially generating at least 70% of SpaceX's targeted $100 billion annual revenue run rate as the company expands more than sevenfold through 2027.

The broader financial results were stronger than expected. Second-quarter revenue rose to $7.81 billion, above the $6.81 billion average estimate among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, while the company posted a loss of $0.09 per share, also better than expected. The AI segment reported an operating loss of $1.26 billion, narrower than the estimated loss of $2.39 billion.

Adding to the near-term pressure is the impending share-lockup expiration. More than $100 billion worth of SpaceX stock is scheduled to become available for trading Thursday as the first stage of a staggered nine-stage lockup agreement expires.

Option trading in SPCX currently stands at 1,104,060 contracts, 4x the average daily volume with calls and puts basically even. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• August 7th, 2026, 100.00 put accounted for 51,993 contracts; open interest is 50,158 contracts.
• August 7th, 2026, 110.00 put accounted for 37,317 contracts; open interest is 26,159 contracts.
• September 18th, 2026, 70.00 put accounted for 33,155 contracts; open interest is 5,805 contracts.

New 52-week lows (36 new lows today): Tigo Energy Inc. (TYGO - $0.08 to $1.24), Crown Castle (CCI - $5.15 to $72.51), Insulet Corp. (PODD - $33.73 to $133.09), Ipower Inc. (IPW - $0.17 to $0.39)

Put activity is elevated in Chime Financial Inc. (CHYM + $1.03 to $25.98) today, with 6,817 puts traded—6x average volume and 1.5x call volume. Most of the flow is tied to a large put purchase in the August 21st, 2026, expiration, where traders bought 5,000 of the 22.50 puts in a single block for $0.55, which was the offer at the time. With open interest at only 1,283 contracts, the trade likely represents new positioning and suggests bearish intent. Shares of CHYM have rallied more than 60% from their June 52-week low of $15.88, while the RSI has climbed to 77.00. With earnings scheduled after today's close, traders may be hedging in advance of the report.

Put activity is unusually elevated in Rambus Inc. (RMBS - $0.81 to $99.74) today, with 6,128 puts traded—11x average volume and 30x call volume. The activity is concentrated in a large put sale in the August 21st, 2026, expiration, where traders sold 5,000 of the 100.00 puts for $7.51, just above the bid price. With open interest at only 556 contracts, the trade likely represents new positioning and suggests neutral-to-bullish intent. Shares of RMBS are down more than 40% from their 52-week high of $174.10, even after the company topped earnings estimates on July 24th.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 0.43 to 16.07) is slightly lower today, as equity markets are mixed (DJI + 450, SPX + 6, COMPX - 81). VIX movement has occurred within a wider range today (the intraday range is 16.15 to 18.43). The highest volume contract is currently the August 19th, 2026, 40.00 call (volume is 50,288 vs. open interest of 149,793).