Daily Options Outlook | Memory stock sentiment heats up in pre-market trading; SanDisk rises over 5% again, while Micron Technology gains more than 3% as New Street upgrades its rating

Today's Options Opportunity Outlook

On the macro front,$Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.US)$Up 0.52% in pre-market trading,$SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.US)$Up 0.14% in pre-market trading. Last Friday's US inflation data met expectations, pushing stock indices to record highs, but a sharp decline in retail sales sparked concerns about consumer spending. Tech stocks showed significant divergence, $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ With earnings approaching on August 26, institutions are heavily buying related options, sustaining the AI infrastructure investment boom. Options market data shows the Put/Call volume ratio for QQQ rose to 0.94 on the last trading day, with Implied Volatility (IV) reaching 20.93%.

At the individual stock level, $SanDisk (SNDK.US)$ The stock price rose approximately 5.3% in pre-market trading, following a 7.39% gain last Friday. The company held an Investor Day on August 13, projecting a long-term non-GAAP gross margin of around 80%, prompting the market to reassess NAND supply, pricing power, and AI storage demand, $Western Digital (WDC.US)$ 、 $Micron Technology (MU.US)$ Other memory stocks also strengthened in tandem. In addition to the peer mapping effect from SanDisk's Investor Day, New Street Research recently upgraded Micron Technology to Buy. The market is now incorporating factors such as the shortage of NAND and HBM, demand for AI servers, and rising product prices into earnings expectations.

$Micron Technology (MU.US)$ Options implied volatility stands at approximately 65.86%, with a Put/Call open interest ratio of 1.11, indicating that options positioning is more defensive than the underlying stock trend. This divergence suggests capital is still buying protection against pullbacks from highs. Today, observe whether the stock price can hold its pre-market gains and stabilize near the 1,000 level. Once direction is confirmed, using limited-risk spreads offers a higher probability of success than directly chasing high-IV calls.

Recap of yesterday's options activity

Index Options

On August 14 (Eastern Time), trading volume in the US equity index options market declined, with a total of 5.07 million contracts traded. The Put/Call volume ratio rose to 0.99.

For the upcoming expiration date,$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ The distribution of options trading volume showed the following characteristics: peak put option volume was at the 7,790 strike, while peak call option volume was at the 7,800 strike.

Single-Stock Options

$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$Closed up 6.50%, with 902,100 options contracts traded; the Put/Call volume ratio dropped to 0.59. AMD plans to issue $5 billion in bonds to fund AI infrastructure expansion, with server revenue expected to grow by over 70% by 2027.

$Broadcom (AVGO.US)$Closed down 5.94%, with 621,200 options contracts traded; the Put/Call volume ratio dropped to 0.68. Broadcom's stock fell more than 5% due to concerns that debt related to its AI chip financing platform could reach $370 billion.

Options Volume Rankings

Among the top 10 stocks by options volume,$Palantir (PLTR.US)$Recorded the highest Put/Call volume ratio, reaching 0.98. Palantir saw active options trading on August 14, with daily volume reaching 574,700 contracts and total open interest amounting to 3.96 million contracts.

The highest put/call open interest ratio is$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$reaching 1.14.

Implied Volatility Leaderboard (underlying market cap > $1 billion and options volume > 100,000)

$Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI.US)$Implied volatility was the highest and showed the most growth, reaching 110.90%, an increase of 2.44% from the previous trading day. Applied Optoelectronics' stock price rose 15%, benefiting from demand for AI data centers and improved sentiment in the optical communication industry.

$Ondas (ONDS.US)$Implied volatility recorded the second-largest increase, reaching 85.69%, up 0.50% from the previous trading session. Following Trump's announcement of tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones, U.S. drone stocks such as Ondas rose. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $525 million–$550 million.

Risk Warning

An option is a contract that grants the holder the right—but not the obligation—to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specified date. Option prices are influenced by multiple factors, including the current price of the underlying asset, strike price, time to expiration, and implied volatility.

Implied volatility reflects the market’s expectation of future price fluctuations over a given period. It is derived by reverse-engineering the Black-Scholes option pricing model and is generally viewed as an indicator of market sentiment. When investors anticipate greater volatility, they may be willing to pay higher premiums for options to hedge risk, resulting in higher implied volatility.

Traders and investors use implied volatility to assess the attractiveness of option prices, identify potential mispricings, and manage risk exposure.

Disclaimer
This content does not constitute an offer, solicitation, recommendation, advice, opinion, or any guarantee regarding any securities, financial products, or instruments. The risk of loss in trading options can be substantial. In certain circumstances, your losses may exceed the initial margin deposit. Even if you place contingent orders such as 'stop-loss' or 'limit' orders, you may not be able to avoid losses. Market conditions may prevent the execution of such orders. You may be required to deposit additional margin on short notice. If you fail to meet such margin requirements within the stipulated time, your open positions may be liquidated. You remain fully liable for any resulting deficit in your account. Therefore, you should thoroughly research and understand options and carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you based on your financial situation and investment objectives. If you trade options, you should be familiar with the procedures for exercising options and handling expiration, as well as your rights and obligations upon exercise or expiration. Options trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. Investors should carefully read"Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options"。

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