Today's Options Market Update

Wall Street's worst week in a month ends today with consumer sentiment and credit data that could provide more breadcrumbs for investors. Focus remains on the D.C. shutdown and concerns about AI valuations that sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down almost 2% yesterday for the third major sell-off in the last few weeks. Stocks continued their retreat this morning as Magnificent Seven stocks stayed red, including a nearly 2% pre-market drop for Nvidia (NVDA). Volatility ticked up.

"The speculative and momentum sentiment that helped lift many tech shares—including some with no profits—appears to be fading a bit," said Nathan Peterson, director of derivatives research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "This could have some negative repercussions for stocks, or it could result in rotation as money flows into higher-quality tech stocks or those sectors with more attractive valuations."  Bitcoin's recent drop below $100,000, the move by the Russell 2000^® (RUT) below its 50-day simple moving average, and the lopsided under-performance in tech are all evidence of "deleveraging" in the speculative and momentum space, Peterson added. Dip-buying hasn't shown up so far this week.

Another pressure point is the D.C. shutdown, now hitting travelers and airlines as the Federal Aviation Administration cuts flights by 10%. "There's no question that pressure is increasing on senators to find a resolution to the shutdown," said Michael Townsend, managing director, legislative and regulatory affairs at Schwab, in his WashingtonWise podcast. "Bipartisan discussions in the Senate about finding compromise picked up steam this week but haven't involved senior party leaders or the president. A quick resolution is far from a slam dunk, but there's a growing sense on both sides of the aisle that the shutdown has become unsustainable."

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is lower by 2 bps 4.07%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is trading down 0.27% to 99.46.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is up 12.80% to 22.00.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is higher by 0.45% to $59.71/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by 0.32%, trading at $101,540.

Ethereum (ETH) is rallying by 0.33% today to $3,325.

Shares of Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE + $37.78 to $257.48) are up over 16.00%, trading at a 52-week high today, after the company bested earnings expectations, posted its largest gross bookings beat in two years, and raised its full-year gross bookings and revenue outlook. Expedia, which also owns Hotels.com and Vrbo, exceeded expectations for Q3 with adjusted EPS at $7.57, better than the $6.94 Wall Street was expecting. Gross bookings for Q3 rose 12% to $30.7 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $29.2 billion.

Going forward, revenue for the remainder of the year is now expected to increase 6.5% at the midpoint, up from 3% to 5% previously, the company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts expected a 4.6% rise. The company also sees gross bookings growing 7%, again ahead of estimates and Expedia's previous guidance, per Bloomberg.

Analysts have reacted favorably to the report with Evercore ISI, B Riley, and Goldman Sachs all raising their price targets to $350, $300, and $295, respectively.

Option trading in EXPE currently stands at 12,584 contracts, 12x the average daily volume with calls and puts basically even. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 7th, 2025, 250.00 put accounted for 1,750 contracts; open interest is 21 contracts.
• January 16th, 2026, 250.00 call accounted for 863 contracts; open interest is 330 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 260.00 call accounted for 652 contracts; open interest is 990 contracts.

New 52-week highs (57 new highs today): Motorsport Games Inc. (MGSM + $1.57 to $3.76), Algonquin Power & Utility (AQN + $0.39 to $6.11), Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST + $5.33 to $71.64), Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE + $37.78 to $257.48)

Unusual call activity is noted today in Day One Biopharmaceuticals (DAWN + $0.90 to $9.88), as call volume currently stands at 8,355 contracts, 16x the average daily volume and 40x the put volume. The put/call ratio is currently at 0.02, suggesting heavy interest in the calls. Activity is greatest in the December 19th, 2025, expiration month where the 8.00 and 9.00 strike calls have traded over 8,000 contracts collectively. Trading has been two-sided, and these strikes have come under considerable interest after DAWN shares rallied 33% following an earnings report earlier in the week that showed a smaller than expected loss.

Another name exhibiting unusual activity today is Amplify Energy Corp. (AMPY + $0.24 to $5.14), as call volume has spiked to 9,860 contracts in morning trading, 17x daily average. Most of the volume can be attributed to the January 16th, 2026, expiration, specifically at the 6.00 call strike. Two large block trades combined to sell over 5,000 of the 6.00 calls at $0.40 when the bid/ask was $0.40 x $0.50.  Open interest at the strike was 3,976 contracts, so these trades could represent additions to current shorts (suggesting neutral to bearish intent). Shares of AMPY have rallied 14% since the company released earnings on Wednesday, so traders may be fading the move.

Shares of Microchip Technology (MCHP - $5.52 to $53.83) are down over 9.00% today after the semiconductor device company reported Q2 revenues and earnings that topped analyst estimates but offered weaker-than-expected guidance for the upcoming quarter. Microchip Technology generated adjusted EPS of $0.35 from net sales of $1.14 billion and adjusted gross margins of 56.7%, all narrowly beating estimates.

It was the guidance, however, that appears to be the likely candidate for the price drop. The company is now forecasting adjusted EPS of $0.34 to $0.40, revenues of $1.11 billion to $1.15 billion, and adjusted gross margins of 57.2% to 59.2%. While the forecasted earnings and gross margins were mainly inline with expectations, the mid-point of the forecast revenue was below estimates.

Many analysts have lowered their price targets including Mizuho, Citi, and Stifel who have taken down their targets to $85, $90, and $75 respectively.

Option trading in MCHP currently stands at 13,896 contracts in morning trading, on pace for 5x the daily average, with puts outpacing calls 1.5:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 7th, 2025, 60.00 put accounted for 2,080 contracts; open interest is 2,989 contracts.
• November 14th, 2025, 56.00 call accounted for 1,629 contracts; open interest is 1,008 contracts.
• November 7th, 2025, 57.00 put accounted for 1,152 contracts; open interest is 2,094 contracts.

New 52-week lows (193 new lows today): CNH Industrial (CNH - $0.64 to $9.62), Eledon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ELDN - $2.45 to $1.65), Sweetgreen Inc. (SG - $0.49 to $5.76), Strategy Inc. (MSTR - $10.65 to $226.55)

There is unusual put activity today in Take Two Interactive (TTWO - $22.31 to $230.09). This activity equates to over 13,409 put contracts, 12x average daily put volume. More than half of the volume can be attributed to the December 26th, 2025, expiration month, specifically at the 215 put strike where a large block order of 7,830 contracts was sold for $2.00. This trade occurred when the bid/ask was a wide $1.00 x $4.30. Since the transaction occurred well below the mid-price, we assume it was a sale and with open interest of zero contracts, we know it represents new positioning (suggesting neutral to bullish intent). Shares of TTWO are down over 8.00% today, resting at the 200-day SMA, following the company's earnings report which showed a wider than expected loss.

Unusual activity has also been detected in Maplebear Inc. (CART + $0.78 to $35.76), as put volume stands at 11,729 contracts in morning trading, 18x average daily volume. Traders bought a large block of 6,000 puts in the November 21st, 2025, expiration month at the 35.00 strike. The price paid for the puts was $1.85 when the bid/ask was $1.50 x $1.90. With only 991 contracts of open interest, we know this represents new positioning (suggesting bearish intent). Maplebear is slated to report its earnings before the market opens next Monday.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 2.50 to 22.00) is up 12.80% in morning trading, as equity markets are down across the board (DJI - 320, SPX - 76, COMPX - 439). VIX movement has occurred within a wide range today (the intraday range is 19.50 – 22.24). The highest volume contract is currently the November 19th, 18.50 put (volume is 67,430 vs. open interest of 119,112).