Today's Options Market Update

For the second time in three days, solid earnings and guidance from a dominant chip firm preceded a pullback in the sector, possibly an ominous sign as tech results accelerate. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) announced a 77% annual earnings gain only to see shares fall more than 4%, hurting other semiconductors and the Nasdaq early. The broader market also dipped and Treasury note yields rose as the U.S. continued striking Iran and crude stayed near recent highs.

Checking data, June retail sales growth was lighter than expected at 0.2% month over month, below the 0.3% consensus, though some elements of the report impressed. Netflix (NFLX) later today caps a week that's generally exceeded expectations in terms of earnings, but shares of the streaming firm fell after its last four reports. Analysts told CNBC that Netflix hasn't had a breakout hit this year.

Major U.S. indexes spent much of Wednesday narrowly in the green but not challenging recent peaks. Relatively benign inflation data this week along with solid earnings from banks and chip equipment makers provided support, though investors seemed more cautious Wednesday, backing away from chips. Volume remained below average, a trend that suggests conviction is lacking.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is higher by 2 bps to 4.56%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is up by 0.34%, trading at 100.82.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is lower today by 3.30%, trading at 16.18.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is lower by 0.48% to $79.22/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is lower by 1.11% to $64,360.

Ethereum (ETH) is lower by 2.62% to $1,874.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT + $10.38 to $99.65) is up more than 11% today, its biggest single-day gain in 24 years, after the pharmaceutical company raised its 2026 profit guidance after a stronger-than-expected Q2 driven by improved performance across most of its business lines. The company now expects adjusted earnings to fall between $5.45 to $5.60 a share this year, a 5-cent improvement at the midpoint, it said in a statement Thursday. Results for Q2 showed adjusted EPS rose to $1.31 vs. $1.26 last year, topping estimates of $1.28. Net sales were $12.59 billion, +13% y/y, versus estimates of $12.54 billion.

Abbott also maintained its full-year comparable sales growth outlook of +6.5% to +7.5% and guided its Q3 2026 adjusted EPS to $1.38–$1.46, in line with the $1.42 estimate.

Option trading in ABT currently stands at 38,382 contracts, 14x average with calls outpacing puts 3.5:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• July 17th, 2026, 105.00 call accounted for 4,072 contracts; open interest is 415 contracts.
• July 17th, 2026, 100.00 call accounted for 3,620 contracts; open interest is 3,041 contracts.
• July 17th, 2026, 102.00 call accounted for 2,520 contracts; open interest is 91 contracts.

New 52-week highs (296 new highs today): Apple Inc. (AAPL + $4.25 to $331.78), Unitedhealth Group (UNH + $13.20 to $431.72), US Bancorp (USB + $1.04 to $64.05), CSX Corp. (CSX + $1.41 to $50.84)

Call activity is elevated in Check Point Software (CHKP + $2.32 to $134.71) today, with 13,904 calls traded—18x average volume and 3x put volume. Nearly all the flow is concentrated in the December 18th, 2026, expiration, driven largely by a 6,000-lot 140.00/190.00 call vertical that traded across multiple blocks, totaling 12,000 contracts. Traders bought the spread for an average price of $10.90 and also sold 4,000 December 130.00 puts at $12.05 to help fund the position. Given the open interest, the activity appears to represent new positioning and suggests bullish intent. Shares of CHKP, like many software stocks, have recently bounced from 52-week lows.

Call activity is also elevated in Citizens Financial Group (CFG + $2.88 to $74.00) today, with 6,152 calls traded—16x average volume and 6x put volume. About half the flow is concentrated in the August 21st, 2026, 75.00 call, where more than 3,000 contracts have traded across multiple blocks. Traders appear to be selling the 75.00 call at the bid price of $1.85. With open interest at 947 contracts, much of the activity appears to represent new positioning and suggests neutral-to-bearish intent. Shares of CFG set a new 52-week high of $74.70 earlier today after topping earnings estimates and are now up more than 26% year-to-date. Traders may be fading that move, with RSI back near 70.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS - $11.70 to $54.60) are down more than 17% today and have fallen 60% from their May 28th 52-week high of $133.86 after the company announced a $1 billion convertible senior notes offering due 2034. Per Bloomberg, the private offering to qualified institutional buyers includes 7.5-year bonds with a fixed 1.625% coupon and a 20% conversion premium. Because convertible debt can convert into equity, the offering raises potential dilution concerns, one potential reason shares can come under pressure following equity-linked financing announcements.

AST SpaceMobile plans to use the proceeds to expand its space-based broadband network, with the goal of reaching at least 45 satellites in orbit by year-end—the minimum the company says it needs to begin commercial service in northern latitudes.

Option trading in ASTS currently stands at 230,412 contracts, 4x the average daily volume with calls and puts basically even. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• July 17th, 2026, 55.00 put accounted for 9,765 contracts; open interest is 6,380 contracts.
• July 17th, 2026, 50.00 put accounted for 5,390 contracts; open interest is 4,130 contracts.
• July 17th, 2026, 60.00 put accounted for 4,564 contracts; open interest is 5,123 contracts.

New 52-week lows (91 new lows today): Joby Aviation Inc. (JOBY - $0.37 to $7.39), Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. (EOSE - $0.35 to $4.02), Oracle Corp. (ORCL - $6.07 to $126.42), Nuscale Power Corp. (SMR - $0.81 to $7.55)

Put activity is elevated in Clorox Co. (CLX + $1.56 to $98.51) today, with 4,640 puts traded—7x average volume and 4x call volume. The flow is concentrated in the August 21st, 2026, 90.00 puts, where traders sold more than 4,000 contracts across multiple blocks for an average price of $2.05, slightly above the bid. With open interest at 702 contracts, the activity appears to represent new or added short put exposure, suggesting neutral-to-bullish intent. Shares of CLX have rallied more than 15% from their May 5th 52-week low of $84.70 and are now trading above their 50-day simple moving average.

Put activity is unusually elevated in the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX - $2.26 to $71.74) today, with 232,431 puts traded—11x average volume and 2x call volume. Most of the flow is tied to a put diagonal between the September 18th and December 18th, 2026, expirations. Traders sold the September 75.00 puts and bought the December 67.00 puts more than 90,000 times across multiple blocks, collecting $1.70 for the trade. The activity appears to represent a roll of long September put positions down to a lower-strike December expiration, allowing traders to book profits after a sharp decline while maintaining a bearish bias. Shares of GDX have already fallen more than 40% from their early March 52-week high of $117.18.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 0.51 to 16.18) is up slightly today, as equity markets are mixed this morning, led by the Dow Jones (DJI + 62, SPX - 20, COMPX - 241). VIX movement has occurred within a narrow range today (the intraday range is 15.77 to 16.54). The highest volume contract is currently the August 19th, 2026, 20.00 call (volume is 39,624 vs. open interest of 109,172).