Today's Options Market Update

Tech Gives Early Lift as Market Digests BOJ, Nike

December 19, 2025 Joe Mazzola

The tech sector, led by Oracle, added to gains Friday after yesterday's recovery, boosting the Nasdaq. Nike fell double-digits after earnings, while the Bank of Japan hiked rates.

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Stocks clicked higher after a four-day losing streak ended yesterday and investors digested earnings from FedEx (FDX) and Nike (NKE). Both stocks lost ground, but the tech sector showed signs of life thanks to a rally in Oracle (ORCL) while bitcoin futures (/BTC) surged almost 4%, a potential sign of improved "risk-on" sentiment. Still, the stock market is on pace for its second straight losing week.

A Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike put central bank policy center stage early Friday. Though not unexpected, the decision puts rates there at a 30-year high and means Japanese investors might extract money from U.S. investments and put it to work at home as yields grow more attractive. U.S. Treasuries, along with the dollar, could be canaries in the coal mine for such moves, and yields ticked up this morning. It's also a good day to monitor U.S. stock volatility, which could be unsettled today due to quarterly options expiration. This so-called "triple witching" often leads to greater trading activity and increased volatility.

Major indexes rebounded Thursday thanks to a cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) and solid Micron (MU) results, though skepticism abounds regarding CPI due to the shutdown's impact. Today brings the final December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading after the preliminary data edged up but remained historically low. Briefing.com consensus for headline sentiment is 53.3, unchanged from the preliminary. Uncertainty persists amid various crosscurrents in the U.S. economy, and that's hurt sentiment

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

Morning Rush

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is higher by 3 bps to 4.15%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is higher by 0.22% at 98.64.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is down by 8.89% to 15.37.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is higher by 0.79% to $56.44/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is rallying 3.06% to $87,415.

Ethereum (ETH) is higher by 6.86% at $2,975.

Today's Bullish Activity

Shares of Oracle Corp. (ORCL + $13.37 to $193.40) are up over 7.00%, in morning trading, after reports surfaced that TikTok would be bought through a joint venture of companies that include Oracle. Per Bloomberg, agreements with Oracle, tech-focused investment firm Silver Lake and MGX, an arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign-wealth fund, have been signed. Each of the three firms will hold 15% of the new company, and the other 5% will be owned by "other new investors," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, 30.1% will be held by existing investors of ByteDance and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance itself, according to The Wall Street Journal report. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew told employees he expects the deal to close on Jan. 22.

Analysts appear positive about the deal, with TD Cowen stating, "This is a positive development for ORCL, as it will allow TikTok to remain operational in the US and it gives ORCL ownership in a highly strategic growth asset." Mizuho said, "This would secure TikTok as a key customer for OCI and could drive meaningful upside for non-AI part of business via durable, higher margin workloads."

Option trading in ORCL currently stands at 499,586 contracts, 4x the average daily volume with calls outpacing puts 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

December 19th, 2025, 195.00 call accounted for 58,199 contracts; open interest is 10,829 contracts.
December 19th, 2025, 190.00 put accounted for 33,822 contracts; open interest is 11,829 contracts.
December 19th, 2025, 192.50 call accounted for 31,842 contracts; open interest is 5,180 contracts.

New 52-week highs (136 new highs today): Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN + $1.46 to $21.74), Micron Technologies (MU + $14.40 to $262.95), Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD + $3.38 to $14.28), Infosys Ltd. (INFY + $3.55 to $22.74)

Notable Call Activity

Unusual call activity is noted today in Shoals Technologies (SHLS + $0.35 to $8.99), as call volume currently stands at 6,090 contracts, 78x the average daily volume and 150x the put volume. Nearly all the volume stems from a single block trade in the January 15th, 2027, expiration month. Traders sold 6,000 of the 15.00 strike calls for a price of $1.50 when the bid/ask was $1.40 x $1.75. There were only 5 contracts of open interest, so we know this represents a new position (suggesting neutral to bearish intent). Shares of SHLS have more than tripled since posting a 52-week-low price of $2.71 back in March.

Another name exhibiting unusual activity today is PTC Inc. (PTC + $1.08 to $176.98), as call volume has spiked to 4,046 contracts in morning trading, 1000x the average volume. Traders are active in the July 17th, 2026, expiration month, specifically at the 160.00 and 165.00 strike calls. It appears traders are buying the 160.00/165.00 call vertical through multiple block trades, paying $3.10 for the spread. The markets are very wide in these options, as both strikes are in-the-money, and the options are very illiquid. Case in point, there was zero open interest at either strike prior to the trade. PTC shares are showing some bullish divergence, as the RSI has risen of late, even as the shares have been stuck in a trading range since October.

Today's Bearish Activity

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (LW - $13.50 to $45.82) are down 22% today, to a 52-week low and its lowest share price since 2020, even though the provider of frozen potato products beat second-quarter expectations and maintained its full-year guidance. Lamb Weston reported an adjusted EPS of $0.69 vs. estimates of $0.65 and net sales of $1.62 billion vs. estimates for $1.59 billion. While both North American and International sales were above estimates, net sales were only up 1% year-over-year, as the company cited pricing pressures as a squeeze on margins. As per the report, volume growth of 8% was offset by an 8% price/mix drop.

Going forward, Lamb Weston confirmed its 2026 fiscal guidance for constant-currency sales of $6.35 billion to $6.55 billion, compared to a $6.52 billion estimate, and adjusted EBITDA of $1 billion to $1.2 billion, per Bloomberg.

Option trading in LW currently stands at 14,.284 contracts in morning trading, on pace for 25x the daily average, with calls outpacing put 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

January 16th, 2026, 50.00 call accounted for 2,045 contracts; open interest is 795 contracts.
January 16th, 2026, 47.50 call accounted for 1,822 contracts; open interest is 404 contracts.
December 19th, 2025, 45.00 put accounted for 1,577 contracts; open interest is nine contracts.

New 52-week lows (28 new lows today): Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (LW - $13.50 to $45.82), Psyence Biomedical Ltd. (PBM - $0.19 to $1.27), Irobot Corp. (IRBT - $0.10 to $0.57), Healthpeak Properties Inc. (DOC - $0.19 to $16.22)

Notable Put Activity

There is unusual put activity today in Arcellx Inc. (ACLX + $0.50 to $64.63). This activity equates to over 2,454 put contracts, 175x average daily put volume and 8x today's call volume. Almost all of the volume can be attributed to multiple block trades in the May 15th, 2026, expiration, specifically at the 40.00 strike put. While trading has been two-ways, most of the activity has been on the buy side, with traders paying $1.00 and $1.35 for a total of 1,954 contracts. With only nine contracts of open interest, we know this represents new positioning (suggesting bearish intent). Shares of ACLX are down over 30% from their 52-week high price of $94.07 set back in mid-October. Traders may be betting on that trend to continue.

Unusual activity has also been detected in Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. (RGR + $0.31 to $31.83), as put volume stands at 5,002 contracts in morning trading, 600x average daily volume and 400x the call volume. Almost all of the volume can be attributed to a put vertical spread that was purchased in the July 17th, 2026, expiration month. Traders purchased the 30.00/20.00 put vertical 2,500 times (5,000 contracts) in a single block trade for a price of $2.50 when the bid/ask was $1.15 x $2.80. There was a collective 15 contacts of open interest between the strikes, so we know this represents new positioning (suggesting bearish intent). Shares of RGR have been extremely volatile this year, with prices ranging from $28.33 to $48.21.

Gauging Volatility

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 1.50 to 15.37) is lower by 8.89%, as equity markets are higher in morning trading (DJI + 287, SPX + 59, COMPX + 264). VIX movement has occurred within a fairly wide range today (the intraday range is 15.28 to 16.53). The highest volume contract is currently the March 18th, 2026, 75.00 call (volume is 55,888 vs. open interest of 13,622).

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