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The Hot Options Report: 07-16-2026 Jul 16, 2026

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1. Libsyn Show Description (Podcast Directories)

Wrap up your trading day with host Mark Longo on The Hot Options Report for Thursday, July 16, 2026. Tech giants and chipmakers are feeling the heat as we head into a massive Friday expiration. Whether it's traders hunting for late-stage juice in Micron or managing risk in SpaceX, the options tape was absolutely on fire today.

Inside This Episode:

Capitol Hill Trades: We dive into recent stock purchases from House members including Amphenol Corp (APH), Ellington Financial (EFC), and Hilton (HLT).
The Tech & Chip Sell-off: Chip names get hammered despite strong Taiwan Semi numbers. Intel (INTC) drops nearly 6% while Nvidia (NVDA) slides to close at $207.40, pacing the leaderboard with 2.76M contracts.
The Wild West of Micron (MU): Down $51 to close at $853.20. Are traders abandoning the $1,000 strikes? We look at the heavy action on the $900 calls going for over $7.00 in premium.
SpaceX Back in the Top 10: Trading below its $135 IPO price, SpaceX draws 774,000 contracts. We decipher the massive block of next-week $330 calls—is this ETF risk management at play?
Earnings & Expiration Action: Post-earnings movement on Netflix (NFLX) plus short-dated plays on Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT).

Resources & Links:

Run Your Own Scans: Check out TheHotOptionsReport.com to find unusual activity, scan the flow, and track the data yourself.

The Option Block 1483: Bargain Hunting in the Options Market Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Is the tech correction finally giving options traders a bargain hunter's paradise? On this episode of The Option Block, host Mark Longo is joined by Uncle Mike Tosaw of St. Charles Wealth Management and Cboe's Henry Schwartz (The Flowmaster) to dissect a choppy, red-tinged market. Together, the panel searches for deals, analyzes massive unusual blocks, and discusses whether the AI/chip trade has finally peaked.

On The Trading Block

Market Round-up: Mark Longo guides the team through the SPX flirts with the 7,600 magnet, a slipping Nasdaq, and VIX cash vacillating around the 16 handle.
The Chip Sell-Off: Mike Tosaw breaks down why blockbuster earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) triggered a massive wave of "sold to you" across AMD, Nvidia, and Micron.
SpaceX Breakdown: Trading well below its IPO price, Henry Schwartz details the bizarre 330 call options activity and explains how double-levered ETFs use these deep out-of-the-money options for risk management.
The New Number Three: Apple solidifies its lock on the #3 spot in options volume. Plus, a preview of earnings for Netflix and Alcoa.

The Odd Block (Unusual Options Activity)

Papa John's (PZZA): A massive roll-up in the August 40/45 vertical call spreads. Is someone picking the bottom in pizza volatility? Henry Schwartz dives deep into the Cboe data.
Cerebras Systems (CBRS): Mark Longo points out heavy volume in the July 31st 360 calls for this newly listed AI/semi player.
DNOW Inc (DNOW): A customer unloads over 5,900 of the September 14 calls. Why writing these juicy calls might be a genius "line in the sand" play.

The Mail Block & Around the Block

Extended Options Hours: Henry Schwartz gives an exclusive update on the pending rollout of pre-market single-name options trading.
Mike Tosaw shares what he's keeping on his trading radar for the rest of the week, from bank earnings reactions to the next wave of mega-cap tech reports.

The Futures Rundown 83: Unexpected Performance Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

Why are the futures markets acting so strange? In this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo welcomes back Mr. Rich Excell, Director of the Derivatives and Trading Academy at the Gies College of Business (University of Illinois)—frequently dubbed the "Hogwarts for derivatives traders."

Mark and Rich dive deep into the concept of "unexpected performance" across the tape. When prices fail to rally on good news or refuse to drop on bad news, it's a major indicator of crowded positioning. The duo dissects the anomaly of falling livestock prices despite record Midwest heat waves, the rock-bottom correlation compressing index-level volatility (VIX), and why everyone is watching the E-Mini technical chart patterns for an impending breakout.

What's Inside This Episode:

The Trading Pit (Movers & Shakers): Analyzing why Natural Gas and Orange Juice (OJ) are stuck in the cellar, while Wheat variants and Ethereum (ETH) lead the charge to the green zone.
The Volume Breakdown: Breaking down the massive spikes in Nasdaq Micro contracts and why fixed-income volume is surging despite muted data reactions.
Equities & Macro Outlook: Why strong economic fundamentals and robust corporate earnings point toward a potential summer breakout, despite heavy confusion in the pit.
Foreign Exchange & Metals Focus: Rich shares his structural look at the Japanese Yen, the Aussie/Yen growth indicator, and whether Gold is settled into a long-term range trade.
The Futures Free-For-All: Answering listener questions on crypto hype, the possibility of a "water futures" contract, and whether the VIX is heading for the summer doldrums or a sudden spike.

The Hot Options Report: 07-15-2026 Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

Host Mark Longo takes you through a high-velocity, respectable day on the tape as options volume bounces back.

We kick things off with a trip to the political side of trading via our House Nay Scans, highlighting the stocks our representatives are unloading this week—including Rick Larsen selling Abbott Labs (ABT), John McGuire dropping BlackRock (BLK), and Susie Lee letting go of Full House Resorts (FLL).

Then, we countdown the top 10 most active names on the tape, featuring a wild day of zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) pinning action:

Apple (AAPL): Back on top of the world, setting a new all-time high of $328.73 before a massive 204,000-contract pin exactly on the $327.50 strike.
NVIDIA (NVDA): Dominates the number one spot with 4.03 million contracts, leading to an incredible 425,000-contract pin on the $212.50 line.
Micron (MU): Tanks 8% to close at $904.28, leaving short sellers of the $900 par puts sweating through an intraday low of $873.
Tesla (TSLA): Battles at the $400 par strike with a whopping 276,000 contracts on the board.
Plus updates on: IREN (Sep $65 calls), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN).

Inform your next trade with the latest analytics and scans at http://www.TheHotOptionsReport.com

Options Boot Camp 399: Fun with Flow, SPCX Pain and General Tomfoolery Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

Mark Longo and Dan Passarelli dive deep into the mailbag to break down the mechanics behind the explosive growth of the options market and answer your burning strategy questions.

The guys unpack a historic month in the industry—June 2026 pulled in a mind-blowing 1.6 billion contracts—and debate what this massive wave of liquidity actually means for retail traders. Is the market becoming too efficient, or are the opportunities bigger than ever?

Topics covered in this episode include:

The Record Volume Boom: A look at the staggering numbers from 2017 to today. How the pandemic structurally changed options trading forever, and where the peaks and troughs of liquidity hide.
Mastering the Wheel Strategy: Dan addresses his "mythical" $30 threshold and explains the exact circumstances under which he'll run a wheel trade on a stock under $5 (including a look at his current covered strangle on a $4 stock).
SpaceX ($SPCX) Options Pain: Two weeks post-IPO, the guys analyze the action, the crushing moves, the symmetry of iron flies, and why cutting losses early on a juicy but volatile setup is a rite of passage for successful traders.
The Hardest Lesson in Trading: Why your exit strategy matters vastly more than your entry plan.

The Hot Options Report: 07-14-2026 Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Wrap up your trading day for Tuesday, July 14, 2026, with Mark Longo on The Hot Options Report. It was a steady day on the tape, with the top 10 threshold landing just shy of the half-million contract mark at 497,000.

Mark breaks down the social scans over at TheHotOptionsReport.com—highlighting what's trending up on X, including Luckin Coffee (LKNCY), Amkor Technology (AMKR), and a wild day for Carvana (CVNA). Then, we count down the top 10 most active equity options dominating the chains:

Microsoft (MSFT): Paper leans toward selling the short-term 390 calls expiring Wednesday.
Terawulf (WULF) & Oracle (ORCL): Massive action in WULF's August 25 calls, while Oracle hits a new 52-week low.
Amazon (AMZN) & Micron (MU): Tech chips in as Amazon eyes the 250 strike and Micron rallies nearly 5% to flirt with par ($1,000).
Intel (INTC) & Palantir (PLTR): Out-of-the-money lotto prints in Intel, and Palantir climbs the ranks to number 4.
Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), & Nvidia (NVDA): The big dogs take center stage as Nvidia regains yesterday's losses, lighting up the Wednesday 210 calls.

Find out where the smart money is leaning, which strikes are creating the most sweat equity, and how to scan the unusual activity for yourself at TheHotOptionsReport.com

The Crypto Rundown 322: Is This the Bottom for Bitcoin? Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of The Crypto Rundown, host Mark Longo welcomes back Bill Ulivieri from Cenacle Capital Management to break down a wild, volatile few weeks in the digital asset space. Bill calls his official generational bottom for Bitcoin, leaning into quantitative power laws, internal AI metrics, and cyclic low models that point to a major buying window between now and November.

The guys also dive deep into the collapsing NAV discounts on MicroStrategy (MSTR), the rising options volume across IBIT and ETHA, and the latest dramatic re-shuffling in the Altcoin Universe.

📊 In This Episode, We Break Down:

The Bitcoin Breakdown: Navigating the holiday dip below $60K, the swift clawback toward $62K, and addressing the threat of quantum computing breaking the blockchain.
The MSTR Discount Monster: Analyzing MicroStrategy trading at a staggering 32% to 38% discount to its Net Asset Value (NAV). Plus, why Bill is aggressively running the options wheel strategy with 94 puts.
IBIT & Covered Call ETFs: A look at IBIT options volume trading in lockstep with the VIX, and a breakdown of the newly launched premium-income ETF, BITA.
The Altcoin Universe: A full market-cap audit of Solana (SOL), XRP, Doge, and Litecoin (LTC).
BitMiner (BMNR) & Render (RNDR): How BMNR quietly scooped up nearly 5% of the total ETH supply to secure a spot in the Russell 1000, and a look at Render Token's massive GPU expansion into AI computing following its Coinbase listing.

The Hot Options Report: 07-13-2026 Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

Host Mark Longo breaks down a fascinating day in the derivatives space as a broader tech sell-off tests traders' patience and summer baseline volumes hold steady.

In this episode, we unpack the high-stakes action ripping through the options chains, including a deep dive into the massive post-IPO volatility hitting Elon Musk's aerospace giant, where heavy put buying signals aggressive fading from retail and paper traders alike. Plus, we break down the high-volume flows, near-miss intraday spikes, and sweat-inducing expiration plays across the major tech landscape—covering heavy single-day option contract volume in retail favorites and major tech giants.

Want to carve up the tape yourself? Head over to TheHotOptionsReport.com to check out our customized Reddit, Wall Street Bets, and congressional trading scans to build your own strategy.

The Option Block 1482: War Vol Returns as SPCX Falls Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

In this Monday edition of The Option Block, Mark Longo, Uncle Mike Tosaw, and Andrew Giovinazzi break down the lighter-than-expected market reaction to escalating headlines, China's mysterious domestic oil consumption cuts, and the massive wave of bank earnings hitting the tape this week.

The crew dives deep into the options tape to track surging volume in the VIX July and October cycles, alongside heavy single-name trading in NVIDIA (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), and the post-IPO fire sale in SpaceX. Plus, unusual activity lights up biotech name Agenus (AGEN) after securing a $340M colon cancer trial, and a short-term pop hits Shake Shack (SHAK).

In the Strategy Block, Uncle Mike breaks down an educational, risk-managed way to scale into SpaceX using an August 1x2 ratio put spread—buying the 110 put and selling two of the 100 puts to create a heavily discounted entry point.

What's inside this episode:

The Trading Block: Market reaction to Persian Gulf tensions, oil hitting 1-week highs, and VIX volume surges.
The Odd Block: Frenzied call buying in Agenus Inc. (AGEN) and short-term weekly targets in Shake Shack (SHAK).
The Strategy Block: How to use a 1x2 ratio put spread to lower your break-even point on highly volatile stocks.
Around the Block: Pre-earnings straddle pricing for JPMorgan (JPM), Citi (C), Bank of America (BAC), and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Volatility Views 686: The Great VIX Striptease Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Mark Longo, Russell Rhoads (Dr. VIX), and Scott Nations dive deep into a massive divergence brewing under the surface of the equity indexes. While S&P 500 volatility is sitting quietly at seasonal lows, Nasdaq 100 volatility tells a completely different story as tech and AI anticipation ramps up ahead of Microsoft's pivotal earnings report.

Key Topics Covered:

The Volatility Review: Breaking down a massive two-week crush that dragged VIX cash down nearly 4 points, alongside drops in VOLY and the VVIX.
The Nasdaq vs. S&P Divergence: Scott explains how VolDex measures show completely different volatility regimes for tech vs. broad market index options.
The Tech "Canary": Why Russell has Microsoft's upcoming July 29th year-end earnings report circled as the ultimate reality check for the AI boom.
VIX Futures & The Return of Volume: June options volume just put up a historic 1.6 billion contracts. Why are traders suddenly piling back into VIX futures?
The "Dark Web" of Vol Trades: Analyzing a bizarre, deep-in-the-money August put spread and a massive November VIX call strip paired with a 1x6 put ratio spread.
Crystal Ball: Predictions for where VIX and VOLI land by next week.

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