It's a massive Thursday on the Hot Options Report (THOR) as host Mark Longo breaks down one of the most active trading sessions of 2026 so far. With nearly 800,000 contracts required just to break into the Top 10, the tape was on fire. We dive into the "on-again, off-again" dance between Nvidia and China, Intel's wild 25% year-to-date run, and a strange wave of deep-in-the-money and out-of-the-money puts dominating the tape in Apple, Microsoft, and Netflix ahead of Friday's expiration.
#1: NVIDIA (NVDA): Still the undisputed king with 2.76M contracts. Rallying 2% on China export optimism, traders are eyeing the $190 strike for tomorrow's close.
#2: Tesla (TSLA): A tug-of-war at $438. Over 100k contracts traded at the $450 strike. Can the bulls reclaim that level by the bell?
#3: Netflix (NFLX): "The Widowmaker" puts up 1.3M contracts. Significant interest in the $105 OTM puts expiring tomorrow.
#4: AMD: Substantial volume in the $235 calls despite a close below $228. Are traders "rolling the bones" or getting trapped?
#5: Apple (AAPL): 1.08M contracts. Unusual activity in the $270 ITM puts as the "Fruit Company" sells off.
#6: Meta (META): Bucking the "tech wreck" to rally back to $620. Funky paper hitting the $650 OTM puts.
#7: Microsoft (MSFT): A rough start to the year continues. We analyze 75,000 contracts of the deep-in-the-money $495 puts.
#8: MicroStrategy (MSTR): "The Monster" gives back some gains. 875,000 contracts on the tape with heavy action in the $175 calls.
#9: Intel (INTC): Up 25% YTD but cooling off today. Is the "closing paper" at the Jan $50 strike a sign of a local top?
#10: AbbVie (ABBV): Breaking into the Top 10 on X-Div action with 171k contracts in the Jan $210 calls.
Semiconductor Sentiment: Between Nvidia's China news and Intel's massive YTD surge, chips continue to drive the lion's share of options volume.
Expiration Fever: A recurring theme of massive put volume across Big Tech (Apple, Microsoft, Netflix) suggests high-stakes positioning ahead of the Friday options expiration.
Market Heat: Why 800k contracts is the "new normal" for the Top 10 in 2026.
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