Micron Technology, Inc., ticker MU, closed Friday at 922.76. Hold onto that number. Everything in this episode is measured against it. Our read into the July 31 expiration is leaning bullish. It is not a conviction call. Implied volatility is cooling, the stock of open put contracts thinned through the week, and the strike where the most option value expires worthless sits above the market…Read the full written analysis

United States Oil Fund, ticker USO, closed Friday at 136.71. Hold onto that number, because everything in this episode is measured against it. Our read into the July 31 expiration is leaning bullish. A mild tilt. Not a conviction call. The strongest single piece of evidence sits underneath the market: the heaviest open option positioning into this expiration is stacked beneath the close…Read the full written analysis

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, ticker SPY, closed Thursday at 738.28. Hold that number. Everything in this episode is measured against it. Our read into the Friday, July 31 expiration is neutral. The range is the trade this week, not the direction. The strongest evidence is how neatly the positioning boxes the stock in: the chain's heaviest put concentration sits just below the…Read the full written analysis

QUALCOMM Incorporated, ticker QCOM, closed at 167.06. Hold onto that number, because everything in this episode is measured against it. Our read into the July 31 expiration is leaning bearish. It is not a conviction call. Open put interest has been building all week, sentiment in short-dated options reads negative across every expiration bucket, and both technical horizons we checked point…Read the full written analysis

Ticker NOK, closed Friday at 9.10. Hold that number, because every level in this episode is measured against it. Our read into the July 31 expiration is leaning bearish. Not a conviction call. The clearest evidence sits in the price of protection: traders in this name have swung from paying up for upside to paying up for downside, and the fresh money that moved on Friday moved to…
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