Earnings Week Sparks Bearish Options Bets

Bears are making noise in the options market this week. Negative bets dominate several key names as earnings season hits full swing.

SMCI stands out with an elevated short score of 64. The stock is up just 6% year-to-date. Negative options flow has been building ahead of its Q4 2026 results. Days to cover sits at 2.5 — not extreme, but rising. Sentiment is clearly cautious.

CHWY is another name drawing bearish attention. ORTEX flagged it in its "Bears Pile In" tracker alongside MGM and HTZ. Chewy is down 29% year-to-date. Its short score of 59 reflects sustained negative positioning. DTC is 2.8 days.

On the chip side, AMAT and CSCO head into heavy earnings weeks with all eyes on near-term guidance. Applied Materials is up 110% year-to-date. That kind of run puts options traders on edge. Any earnings miss could trigger a sharp unwind.

MU and SNDK are drawing the most negative options bets in the semiconductor space. Sandisk is up an extraordinary 411% year-to-date. Options flow there leans negative — a sign traders may be hedging that massive gain.

Bullish signals are appearing in pharma. JNJ tops the S&P 500 options score table. Johnson & Johnson is up 25% on the year. The RSI sits at 55 — not overbought. Positive options flow points to continued upside bets.

NVDA remains a magnet for large negative bets by dollar value. Bulls and bears clash in equal measure. With a $5.3 trillion market cap, any options sweep moves fast.

Overall, earnings risk is driving the options tape this week. Bears are hedging into results. Bulls are selectively pressing pharma and large-cap tech.