Options traders are positioning hard ahead of a pivotal earnings week. Alphabet reports Tuesday. Intel and Southwest Airlines follow later in the week.
The defensive hedging is most visible in stressed names. Wolfspeed carries 79% short interest as a percentage of free float. Borrowing costs run at 7.9% APR. Zero shares remain available to borrow. That squeeze setup makes options the only practical vehicle for new short exposure.
Hertz tells a similar story. SI % FF sits at 70%. Available shares to borrow have hit zero. Put activity in heavily shorted, borrow-constrained names like these often surges as traders shift from stock lending to options markets.
Fox Corporation is drawing attention from a different angle. Its 21% SI % FF is elevated. Availability stands at 246% of short interest — meaning plenty of supply exists to keep shorts in place. Analysts downgraded the stock today.
Ahead of Alphabet's print, the $2 trillion name carries just 1.5% SI % FF. But with earnings-day implied volatility typically elevated, straddle buyers will be watching closely.
GameStop remains a wildcard. 13.7% SI % FF and active retail options flow keep the squeeze threat alive.
This is not financial advice.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
