Market Overview

U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday (Jan. 3) as investors neared the end of a holiday-shortened week that also rang in a new year, which brought with it expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate cuts and looser regulatory policies from the incoming administration.

Regarding the options market, a total volume of 50,663,981 contracts was traded, up 10% from the previous trading day.

Top 10 Option Volumes

Top 10: NVDA, TSLA, MSTR, AAPL, PLTR, RIVN, AMD, VIX, AMZN, JPM

Source: Tiger Trade App

Nvidia finished up 4.5% on Friday after gaining 3% on Thursday. The next big catalyst for Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, likely will be CEO Jensen Huang’s speech at the CES tech show in Las Vegas on Monday. 

There are 5.71 million Nvidia option contracts traded on Friday, up 90% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 67% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $145 strike call option expiring January 3, with 340,456 contracts trading.

Tesla shares rallied 8.2% on Friday after sinking 6.1% on Thursday. Tesla's Q4 delivery numbers missed expectations, but a recent report shows the company is seeing positive momentum in China. Canaccord weighed in on Tesla in new coverage, issuing a buy rating on the stock and raising its one-year price target from $298 per share to $404 per share.

There are 3.74 million Tesla option contracts traded on Friday, up 20% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 59% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $400 strike call option expiring January 3, with 189,929 contracts trading.

Unusual Options Activity

Source: Market Chameleon

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world, witnessed its shares rise by 13.2% on Friday after revealing plans to raise $2 billion in capital. The perpetual preferred stock offering underscores the company’s unyielding commitment to expanding its Bitcoin reserves.

There are 952K MicroStrategy option contracts traded on Friday, up 123% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 62% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $340 strike call option expiring January 3, with 25,227 contracts trading.

Rivian surged 24.5% after the EV company delivered 14,183 vehicles in the fourth quarter, better than analysts’ consensus of 13,000. Rivian delivered 51,579 units in 2024, beating expectations of 51,000.

There are 801.4K Rivian option contracts traded on Friday, up 481% from the previous trading day. Call options account for 68% of overall option trades. Particularly high volume was seen for the $16 strike call option expiring January 3, with 54,604 contracts trading.

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: JPM, PLTR, TSLA, SMCI, AMZN, NVDA, VST, F, MCHP, PFE

Top 10 bearish stocks: AAPL, INTC, META, CVS, MSFT, AVGO, AMD, UBER, OXY; EQT

Source: Market Chameleon

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