Market Overview

On July 14, The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: Dow Jones up 0.02% at 52,508.27; S&P 500 up 0.38% at 7,543.59; NASDAQ up 0.90% at 26,107.01. A modest rise in the blue-chip Dow contrasted with a stronger advance for tech-heavy Nasdaq, while the broad S&P 500 hovered in between, reflecting a tug-of-war between surging semiconductor names and weakness in parts of the software complex.

On July 14, total option volume = 50,702,715. Average daily option volume = 63,142,840. 42% puts, 58% calls. 900 stocks have option volume that is greater than their 30 day moving average volume.

Top 10 Option Volumes

Top 10: NVDA、TSLA、AAPL、Palantir Technologies Inc.、Cboe Volatility Index、Intel、Micron Technology、Amazon.com、IBM、Microsoft。

IBM Plunges Over 25%; More Than $40 Million in Put Option Trades Signal Major Market Move

IBM shares plunged more than 25% on Tuesday. The session saw significant institutional activity in the options market, highlighted by a massive $41.04 million multi-leg put trade and a clear directional bearish bias in the large trade flow.

Large Trades

A $41.04 million four-leg put combination was the dominant large trade of the day, built entirely in July 17, 2026 puts and centered around deep in-the-money strikes versus the current $217.07 stock price. The structure involved buying 2,000 contracts of the 290.0 put for $13.86 million, while selling 1,200 contracts each of the 310.0 put and 300.0 put for $10.67 million and $9.44 million respectively, plus selling 1,100 contracts of the 285.0 put for $7.07 million.

In aggregate, this was a net debit put combination, indicating the trader paid premium overall rather than collected it. Strategically, that points to a downside-oriented hedge or bearish positioning, but with the multiple short in-the-money puts suggesting the trader was also financing the long put exposure and shaping a more customized payoff rather than simply buying outright protection.

Overall sentiment in IBM large trades was clearly bearish, with total bullish flow at $0.00 million versus bearish flow of $14.26 million, leaving a net difference of $14.26 million to the bearish side. The conclusion is decisively negative in tone: the key flows were concentrated in put-based downside structures, led by a very large net-debit multi-leg put position and reinforced by an additional bear put spread, showing participants were willing to spend premium for downside exposure rather than position for upside.

SK hynix Surges; Over $3 Million Bet on $150 Strike Put Options

SK hynix up 27.29% from the previous close. This sharp move was accompanied by significant options activity, with a standout large trade being a multi-million dollar purchase of long-dated, out-of-the-money put contracts, signaling a notable bearish positioning among some investors.

Large Trades

A PUT buy worth $3.17 million was the standout large trade, with 1,800 contracts purchased on the September 18, 2026 $150.00 put. With the stock reference price at $187.35, this strike sits out of the money, making it a downside-oriented position that would benefit from a meaningful decline in SKHY over time. As a single-leg put purchase, the trade reflects a clearly bearish stance and likely serves either as a directional bet on future weakness or as portfolio protection against a substantial drop into 2026.

Overall sentiment is bearish. With all of the notable activity concentrated in an out-of-the-money long put purchase, the large-trade profile points to investors positioning for downside risk rather than upside participation, suggesting cautious to negative market sentiment around SKHY.

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