Market Overview

As of the market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI.US) fell by 0.38% to 44,461.28 points, while the NASDAQ(IXIC.US) rose by 0.15% to 21,129.67 points. The S&P 500 index(SPX.US) experienced a decline of 0.12%, closing at 6,362.9 points.

Notably, the trading volume for the S&P 500 (SPX) put options reached 1.9524 million contracts, compared to 1.5454 million call options, resulting in a put/call volume ratio of approximately 1.26. This indicates a strong bearish sentiment among investors towards the index. Among these, the SPX put option SPXW 060825 P 6125 had a trading volume of 3,200 contracts, with a VOL/OI ratio of 18.14. The strike price for this contract is 6,125.00, and the option saw a decrease of 48.11%.

Top 10 Options Trading Volume:

NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US): Overnight, Nvidia shares rose by 2.14%, reaching a record high. The total options trading volume for the day was 2.9 million contracts, an increase of 367,500 contracts from the previous day, representing a 0.14-fold increase. Over 70% of the trades were call options. The open interest stands at 19.71 million contracts. Sources reveal that Nvidia placed an order for 300,000 H20 AI chips from TSMC last week to meet growing demand in the Chinese market.

Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US): Tesla shares fell by 0.67% overnight. The day's options trading volume reached 1.56 million contracts, up 107,500 from the previous day, marking a 0.07-fold increase. The open interest is at 7.97 million contracts.

SoFi(SOFI.US): SoFi shares dropped by 2.37% overnight, with the options trading volume at 760,000 contracts, a decrease of 654,800 from the previous day, showing a 0.46-fold decrease. The open interest stands at 3.47 million contracts.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.(AMD.US): AMD shares rose by 1.17% overnight. The options trading volume reached 740,000 contracts, down 940,100 from the previous day, indicating a 0.56-fold decrease. The open interest is at 3.91 million contracts. Ahead of AMD's Q2 earnings report, BofA Securities raised its target price from $175 to $200, citing strong growth in the AI and CPU markets. The new target price implies a potential upside of nearly 13% from the current share price.

Marathon Digital(MARA.US): Shares of Marathon Digital fell by 0.36% overnight. The options trading volume reached 620,000 contracts, an increase of 364,200 from the previous day, representing a 1.41-fold increase. The open interest is at 2.5 million contracts.

Apple Inc.(AAPL.US): Apple shares declined by 1.05% overnight. The options trading volume for the day was 490,000 contracts, up 30,000 from the previous day, marking a 0.07-fold increase. The open interest stands at 4.78 million contracts.

Meta Platforms(META.US): Meta shares fell by 0.68% overnight. The options trading volume reached 480,000 contracts, an increase of 268,600 from the previous day, showing a 1.27-fold increase. The open interest is at 1.93 million contracts. After hours, Meta reported Q2 results that exceeded expectations across revenue, earnings, and future outlook, and raised its capital expenditure guidance for the year. The stock surged 11.5% post-market.

Super Micro Computer, Inc.(SMCI.US): Super Micro Computer shares rose by 3.55% overnight. The options trading volume was 420,000 contracts, a decrease of 171,100 from the previous day, indicating a 0.29-fold decrease. The open interest is at 2.56 million contracts. CEO Charles Liang announced increased manufacturing investment in Europe to meet the growing demand in the AI sector. The company expects fiscal 2025 revenue to reach approximately $22 billion, a 47% year-over-year increase, driven by deployments using Nvidia's advanced Blackwell GPUs. Super Micro Computer has secured a significant portion of Nvidia's GB200 GPU supply, accounting for about 25%.

PUT/CALL: Counts the percentage of open put and call option holdings for the listed stocks during the trading day.

Options Activity Tracking:

REPLIMUNE GROUP, INC.(REPL.US): Overnight, shares surged by 101.33%. Notable options activity includes:

• REPL 211125 C 17.5: Call option with a strike price of $17.50, expiring on November 21, 2025, saw a volume of 19,500 contracts, dropping 70.23%.
• REPL 190925 P 7.5: Put option with a strike price of $7.50, expiring on September 19, 2025, traded 10,300 contracts, decreasing by 62.82%.

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.(AAOI.US): Shares fell by 4.36% overnight. The AAOI 080825 C 26 call option with a strike price of $26.00, expiring on August 8, 2025, had a volume of 24,400 contracts, dropping 29.55%.

Gap, Inc. (The) Common Stock(GAP.US): Shares declined by 0.96% overnight. The GAP 150825 C 20.5 call option with a strike price of $20.50, expiring on August 15, 2025, traded 19,400 contracts, down 19.05%.

Coterra Energy(CTRA.US): Shares increased by 0.29% overnight. The CTRA 160126 C 28 call option with a strike price of $28.00, expiring on January 16, 2026, saw a volume of 18,000 contracts, rising 19.4%.

vol/oi: The ratio of options volume to the number of open positions in the contract, with higher vol/oi indicating that the market is creating an abnormal number of new positions.

Option IV Unusual Movements:

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc.(CAPR.US): Shares surged over 21%, with options trading volume reaching 12,000 contracts. Implied volatility (IV) spiked to 231%.

The director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Prasad, has stepped down less than three months into his tenure. This comes amid the FDA's stringent regulatory measures on multiple gene therapies and vaccines, drawing market attention. Analysts suggest his departure may alleviate regulatory pressures, viewed as positive news for gene therapy and vaccine companies.

High IV stocks:

Source: Barchart, data as of Eastern Time, July 30, 2025.

Read More: A quick look at the pros and cons of index options!

Note: Implied volatility estimates the expected fluctuation of a stock's price and is derived from the cost of its options. High and low levels of implied volatility signify market sentiment and option supply and demand dynamics. Feeding into an option's premium, implied volatility, time value, and directional movement embody the core aspects influencing option pricing. Traders navigate their strategies within this three-dimensional framework.

Volume reflects the aggregate volume of options contracts executed in a single day.

IV Rank gauges the standing of the current implied volatility within the highest and lowest values observed over the past year, serving as a relative measure.

IV Percentile denotes the proportion of days during the past year when the implied volatility was lower than the present rate, providing a statistical norm.

IV Yearly High marks the apex of an option's implied volatility recorded within the preceding year, signaling its peak uncertainty or risk