Option Movers | MSTR, MARA, RIOT See Abou 80% Call Options; IBIT's Volume Surges 189%

Market Overview

The benchmark S&P 500 rose to a record closing high on Thursday (Jan. 23), as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings and digested comments from President Donald Trump, including a call for cuts in interest rates and oil prices.

Regarding the options market, a total volume of 43,633,649 contracts was traded, down 6% from the previous trading day.

Top 10 Option Volumes

Top 10: $NVDA(NVDA)$, $TSLA(TSLA)$, $AAPL(AAPL)$, $MSTR(MSTR)$, $PLTR(PLTR)$, $VIX(VIX)$, $PFE(PFE)$, $MARA(MARA)$, $RIOT(RIOT)$, $AMZN(AMZN)$

Source: Tiger Trade App

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, making good on his promise to quickly overhaul U.S. crypto policy.

Additionally, The new Senate subcommittee focused on the blockchain world will be led by two solidly pro-crypto legislators: Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R.-Wyo.) will chair while Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) will serve as its ranking member.

Crypto stocks like MicroStrategy, MARA Holdings, and Riot Platforms experienced volatility on Thursday alongside Bitcoin's price fluctuations.

There are 702.1K $MicroStrategy(MSTR)$ option contracts traded on Thursday, up 83% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 76% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $415 strike call option expiring January 31, with 41,905 contracts trading. MSTR 20250131 415.0 CALL

There are 398.58K $MARA Holdings(MARA)$ option contracts traded on Thursday, up 72% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 81% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $20 strike call option expiring January 24, with 45,599 contracts trading. MARA 20250124 20.0 CALL

There are 364.7K $Riot Platforms(RIOT)$ option contracts traded on Thursday, up 59% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 84% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $15 strike call option expiring February 21, with 39,629 contracts trading. RIOT 20250221 15.0 CALL

Unusual Options Activity

Source: Market Chameleon

Bitcoin spot ETF $iShares Bitcoin Trust(IBIT)$ (IBIT) also saw unusual activities. There are 744.6K IBIT option contracts traded on Thursday, up 189% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 76% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $60 strike call option expiring January 24, with 46,497 contracts trading. IBIT 20250124 60.0 CALL

$American Airlines(AAL)$’ first-quarter earnings outlook on Thursday fell short of analysts’ estimates, sending its shares down nearly 9%.

There are 349.61K American Airlines option contracts traded on Thursday, down 18% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 59% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $17 strike put option expiring January 24, with 31,877 contracts trading. AAL 20250124 170 PUT

TOP 10 S&P 500 Bullish & Bearish

This report shows stocks with the highest volume of bullish and bearish activity by option delta volume, which converts option volume to an equivalent stock volume (bought or sold).

If we take the total positive option delta volume and subtract the total negative option delta volume, we will get the net imbalance. If the net imbalance is positive, there is more bullish pressure. If the net is negative, there is more bearish pressure.

Top 10 bullish stocks: $PLTR(PLTR)$, $AKAM(AKAM)$, $NFLX(NFLX)$, $GSX(GSX)$, $NVDA(NVDA)$, $EA(EA)$, $MRNA(MRNA)$, $DELL(DELL)$, $VZ(VZ)$, $MOS(MOS)$

Top 10 bearish stocks: $AAPL(AAPL)$, $PFE(PFE)$, $PG(PG)$, $GOOGL(GOOGL)$, $TSLA(TSLA)$, $MU(MU)$, $F(F)$, $IVZ(IVZ)$, $T(T)$; $GOOG(GOOG)$

Source: Market Chameleon

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