Edited by Peter Hillerberg1 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
Options activity this week skews toward protection rather than speculation, with semiconductor names attracting the heaviest negative flows as chip stocks face renewed selling pressure.
NVDA, MU and AMD top the leaderboard for negative options bets over the past seven days. All three have logged the largest dollar volumes in bearish contract flow among US large-caps. NVDA trades near $5.7 trillion in market cap but its RSI sits at just 54, well off overbought territory. The South Korean market fell more than 5% this week as AI-linked names sold off globally, adding urgency to put buying in US chip names.
The macro backdrop adds nuance. Japan's numerically controlled machine tool orders rose 63% year-on-year in August 2026, according to ORTEX Alt Data, the sharpest reading in the dataset. That points to strong industrial demand for precision equipment, a positive signal for the semiconductor supply chain even as near-term sentiment sours.
On the bullish side, SAP, ADP and EQIX each show 100% positive options flow over the past week, meaning every flagged options sweep tilts toward calls. These names have little in common operationally but share defensive characteristics heading into a busy earnings period.
CRWD remains in focus after a mini-tender offer emerged this week at $260 per share, well below where the stock trades. CrowdStrike advised shareholders to reject it. The stock is down 44% year-to-date and carries a short score of 33.
The week's dominant macro theme, however, is bank earnings. GS, WFC, BAC and MS all report. Options positioning ahead of those prints leans cautiously positive, with financials still seen as a relative safe haven amid Iran-related geopolitical uncertainty.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
