AVGO options traders moved sharply into puts on Friday. Shares of Broadcom fell 12% after the chipmaker's revenue outlook disappointed. The move wiped roughly $285 billion in market value overnight.
Open interest on deep out-of-the-money puts spiked across near-term strikes. The June 18 expiry drew the heaviest concentration. Put open interest at strikes from $70 to $200 ran well above call activity at comparable levels — a classic bearish skew following a gap-down.
AVGO carries just 1.1% short interest as a percentage of free float. That low base means the options market is the primary arena for bearish bets right now.
TGT also attracted defensive positioning. The retailer faces a product recall after the FDA found bacteria in baby wipes. Short interest sits at 3.3% of free float. Options expiries cluster tightly through June and July — suggesting traders expect near-term volatility to persist.
NVDA, the sector bellwether, saw sympathetic weakness. NVDA's free float short interest stays low at 1.3%. But the AI selloff broadens the risk backdrop. Traders are using expiries through September to hedge extended positions.
The SPY options chain shows near-daily expiries through mid-June. That density signals elevated hedging demand across the broad market. Macro risk — including Iran tensions and bond yield pressure in Europe — adds to the cautious tone traders are expressing through puts this week.
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.
