8/17 Pre-Market Thoughts: Anthropic Targets $2 Trillion IPO

One-sentence theme: The AI primary market is red-hot (Anthropic's $2 trillion IPO pushes valuations to the limit), while secondary market funds continue to go long on the Nasdaq and short Hong Kong stocks. The tone remains unchanged: Sell Puts on pullbacks, don't chase highs.

I. Sentiment Focus: Anthropic's $2 Trillion IPO — Valuation Supported by the "Future"

  • Valuation maxed out: According to Reuters, Anthropic's IPO valuation is anchored to revenue expectations two years out — projected 2028 revenue of $190–200 billion (far above the $47 billion annualized run rate in May). This framework could support a valuation approaching $2 trillion.

  • Growth is staggering: According to Bloomberg, Q2 revenue exceeded $11.5 billion, up 14x YoY and 2.4x QoQ (from $4.73 billion last quarter). Anthropic is also aiming to go public before OpenAI and DeepSeek.

  • ⚠️ Sober interpretation: Growth is real and explosive, but a $2 trillion valuation is "using 2028 revenue expectations to support today's price" — a classic growth narrative pricing. Note: ahead of a mega-cap IPO, the market often heats up the AI atmosphere first, before reallocating capital from other giants closer to the listing.

II. WDAY Acquisition Arbitrage Opportunity

  • Sources say Silver Lake is in talks to acquire Workday (WDAY), with the stock spiking 17% on Thursday before pulling back.

  • Approach: Before the acquisition news is finalized, the stock typically holds at elevated levels → consider Sell Put as a news-arbitrage play (betting it won't break down, collecting premium). ⚠️ However, there is a risk the deal falls through, so strike prices should leave a safety margin and position sizes should be controlled.

III. Notable Block Trades (With Interpretation)

  • QQQ: 8/28-expiry 765 Buy Call $QQQ 20260828 765.0 CALL$ , opening 53,000 contracts → long the Nasdaq, betting on new highs in August.

  • TQQQ: 1/21/2028-expiry 110 Buy Call $TQQQ 20280121 110.0 CALL$, 3,512 contracts → leveraged long-term Nasdaq bet (long-term bullish).

  • KWEB: 12/18-expiry 27 Sell Call$TQQQ 20280121 110.0 CALL$  $KWEB 20261218 27.0 CALL$ , 4,810 contracts → Hong Kong topping strategy (betting Hong Kong stocks can't rise further, capping the upside).

  • Summary: U.S. equities (Nasdaq) skewed bullish, Hong Kong stocks skewed topping → the "U.S. strong, Hong Kong weak" capital flow pattern continues.

IV. Macro Themes · Conventional Approaches

  1. Anthropic IPO (late September or early October): Likely scheduled after Triple Witching on 9/18. A trillion-dollar giant's IPO has significant near-term market impact (capital may be reallocated from other mega-caps ahead of the listing, but the AI atmosphere tends to heat up first).

  2. Gold Sell Put: Increased probability of no rate hike is bullish for gold. The trend is strong, but a pullback is likely after the sharp rally — watch for Sell Put opportunities on pullbacks.

  3. SPY / S&P Sell Put (Policy tailwind): Trump Account passive buying (7 million accounts already, default SPYM) — S&P has already risen 3% → structural tailwind. For those with a medium-to-long-term bullish view, Sell Puts on dips are a better alternative to chasing highs.


⚠️ Disclaimer: The above is a pre-market information summary and strategy discussion, provided for educational and discussion purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice. Sell Puts/Calls carry assignment/exercise risk; naked selling carries asymmetric risk. Only operate with a willingness to hold the shares at the strike price, manage position sizes, and set stop-losses. Investing involves risk.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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