Earnings season is driving a sharp split in options sentiment. Bears are stacking up puts on several names. Bulls are chasing momentum plays elsewhere. The divergence is notable.
IONQ — Bears dig in ahead of Q1 results. The quantum computing stock carries a short score of 71. Options flow this week turned cautious. Traders are buying downside protection through the May 8 expiry. That is the nearest available date, signalling immediate-term fear. IONQ has 6.5 days to cover — any miss could trigger a sharp move.
SNAP — A split picture emerges. The social media name rallied 37% recently but sits down 22% year-to-date. Short sellers are retreating. Yet options activity spans all the way to July 17, suggesting traders are hedging over a longer period. The stock has a short score of 55. Earnings loom. Options expiries cluster around the May 15 date — a key risk event.
WOLF (Wolfspeed) — Most aggressive setup. The SiC chipmaker shows the highest short score of the group at 75.5. It has surged 111% year-to-date. That rally has bears on edge. Options run only to June 18 — the market is not pricing risk beyond that horizon. With 7.4 days to cover, a squeeze remains live.
Broad positive bets are concentrated in NVDA, MU, and AMD. All three saw the largest positive options flow in the past week. Mega-cap AI names continue to attract call volume. NVDA alone carries 29 separate expiry dates through July — a sign of deep liquidity and sustained trader interest.
The key pattern today: defensive options activity is concentrated around Q1 earnings prints. Traders are not waiting.
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.
