Bears Circle Chips, Bulls Flood Banks

Options flow tells a divided story this week. Negative bets dominate the semiconductor space. Sandisk and Micron Technology lead all US stocks by bearish options volume over the past seven days. Both are deep in chip territory — a sector caught between AI euphoria and inventory cycle fears.

Micron is up 207% year-to-date. That's a big target on its back. Bears are pricing in a pullback. Sandisk has surged 411% YTD. Options sellers are circling.

On the bullish side, the picture flips entirely. U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon, and Brookfield Corporation each hit a 100% positive options flow reading over the past week. Financials are drawing call buyers. U.S. Bancorp is up nearly 20% YTD. Momentum is backing the bulls.

Johnson & Johnson tops the options score rankings among large-caps. It carries an 84.4 ORTEX stock score. The options signal there is unusually constructive given JNJ's defensive profile.

Away from mega-caps, Archer Aviation draws attention after reporting Q2 results. The company's CEO described an "inflection point." The stock carries a short score of 67.5 and DTC of 5. That's a squeeze-watch setup. Options traders appear to be positioning for a move.

AppLovin sits at an RSI of just 32 after a 49% YTD fall. Bearish options bets are heavy there too. The market is not yet convinced the selloff is overdone.

This article is not financial advice.