Bears Circle Banks, Bulls Chase Storage and Discretionary

SNOW — Earnings hedge builds all week

Snowflake's put-call ratio climbed to 0.83 by June 26, hitting 4.2–4.25 standard deviations above the 20-day mean. The ratio was flagged on June 23, 24, 25 and 26 — each time the highest or near-highest defensive reading in over a year. Earnings were scheduled for June 29, the final day of the week. The multi-session buildup points to deliberate pre-event hedging rather than noise.

RCL — Record put demand despite 25% monthly rally

Royal Caribbean's PCR hit 1.90–1.96, a 52-week high and 4.1–4.3 standard deviations above the 20-day mean of 1.24. The divergence is notable: the stock gained roughly 25% in a month, yet options traders stacked puts at record levels ahead of July 28 earnings. The gap between price momentum and options defensiveness was one of the widest divergences in this week's dataset.

WDC — Puts collapse as stock surges 51%

Western Digital ran the opposite direction. Its PCR crashed to 1.35–1.44, the lowest in 52 weeks and 4.1 standard deviations below a 20-day mean of 2.35. The stock had gained roughly 51% in one month. Options traders were actively unwinding put positions, with calls dominating flow across multiple sessions through June 23–26.

W — PCR hits 52-week high amid 38% monthly surge

Wayfair's put-call ratio reached 0.97–0.98 — a 52-week high, flagged on June 24, 25 and 26. The stock itself rallied approximately 38% over the month. The combination of sharp upside in the underlying and simultaneous record put buying suggests large holders were purchasing downside protection into the move, rather than abandoning exposure.

MKSI — Repeated bearish flags after sharp rally

MKS Instruments was flagged three times across the week (June 23, 24 and 26). Its PCR reached 0.70–0.76, the highest in over a year and 4.3 standard deviations above the 20-day mean of 0.26. The stock had gained roughly 31% in the prior month. Put buying against a strong rally echoes the pattern seen in RCL and Wayfair.

RELX — 52-week high PCR held for three sessions

RELX's put-call ratio reached 1.41 — a 52-week high — on June 24, 25 and 26, each time at a z-score of +4.14. The stock had slid roughly 5–6% in the preceding month. Unlike the rally-with-hedging pattern above, this is a more conventional defensive move against a weakening underlying.

Sector Themes

European Financials under heaviest protection

BBVA, HSBC and NWG all triggered put-buying alerts this week. BBVA's signal was the most extreme and most persistent. HSBC's PCR spiked to 1.69 — the highest in four months — while NWG moved in the opposite direction, with its PCR collapsing to 0.21 as call buyers dominated. The divergence within European banks is notable: BBVA and HSBC drew heavy downside hedging; NWG drew bulls.

Earnings-driven hedging across US names

Pre-earnings PCR spikes were the dominant driver of high-severity alerts this week. SMFG, SNOW, GME, JEF, APO and QGEN all showed put-call extremes directly tied to upcoming earnings dates. QGEN's PCR hit 1.57 — a 52-week high, 4.35 standard deviations above its mean — the session before results.

Technology and semiconductors: mixed signals

SYNA and ON both showed bearish PCR spikes. SYNA reached 0.68, a six-month high at 4.4 standard deviations above average. WDC and STX moved the other way — storage names saw puts dumped aggressively, with STX hitting its lowest PCR since early 2025. Semis showed no uniform direction; stock-specific catalysts drove the divergence.

Airlines saw defensive positioning

JBLU, ALGT and ODFL (freight) all triggered elevated PCR alerts. JBLU's ratio reached 0.959, the highest in four months at 4.0 standard deviations above its mean. ODFL hit a four-month PCR high of 0.87 on back-to-back sessions. Transport names as a group leaned bearish in options positioning this week.