Top Stocks Today: SPCX Leads as Gold Options Flow Turns Bullish – August 11, 2026
Semiconductors remain the most active area of the options market, but also the most conflicted. Bullish breadth is stronger across energy, precious metals, space and biotechnology, although signal quality varies considerably.
Semiconductors, Memory and Networking
Semiconductors, memory and networking are once again the most active areas, but also the most conflicted.
MU had a very large bought put carrying approximately $14 million in premium, while DELL had two bought puts totalling around $8 million. INTC combined a sold call with a bought put, and ANET, CRDO, AAOI and NVDA all attracted bought-put demand. SOXX, MRVL and ON added lower-confidence bearish opposition through call selling.
Against that, WDC had a bought call alongside a put sale, while SIMO recorded a clean September call purchase. SKHY also finished with a bullish net tilt.
CBRS, PENG and AMBA added bullish calls, although their moneyness or isolated nature reduces the quality of those signals. EWY turned positive today through a mixed two-call structure, but this was not a completely clean directional setup.
Overall, semiconductor flow is highly active but does not provide a reliable sector-wide direction. The size and repetition of the bought puts in MU and DELL deserve attention, while WDC and SIMO offer the cleaner bullish opposition.
Energy and Oil
Energy and oil showed bullish breadth, but the flow did not look particularly urgent.
VLO, CLMT, RIG, EQT and BORR all recorded bullish call activity, while DINO received support through put selling. USO’s two-call structure was also bullish-leaning, but the opposing call leg suggests a spread or capped-upside view. The total USO premium was also considerably smaller than the leading individual-stock trades.
Most of the single-stock calls were either long-dated, far out of the money or deep in the money. That reduces their usefulness as immediate directional signals.
The group is leaning bullish, but the structure looks more consistent with longer-term positioning than traders urgently chasing near-term upside.
Gold, Miners and Materials
Gold, miners and materials were modestly bullish after discounting the most extreme tail hedge.
GLD had two clean bought calls with eight DTE, while B, CGAU and HL added further call demand. SLV and VALE were supported primarily through put selling.
GFI’s $2.24 million bought put is impressive in premium terms, but it was approximately 70% OTM. At such a remote strike, it is better interpreted as tail protection or convex downside exposure than as a base-case expectation of a collapse in GFI.
Overall, precious-metals positioning remains bullish, with GLD providing the strongest tactical signal.
Space, Aerospace and AI Infrastructure
Space, aerospace and AI infrastructure were bullish.
SPCX produced the strongest repeated bullish cluster, with bought-call dominance across three calls. However, one opposing sold leg means the structure is not completely clean.
NBIS added a bought call alongside a put sale, giving it bullish exposure from both sides of the chain. CBRS also had a large bought call, although it was approximately 39% OTM, reducing its immediate directional quality. APLD and BW supplied smaller near-term call demand.
SPCX and NBIS provide the best confirmation within the theme, while the remaining trades are more speculative or smaller in size.
Healthcare and Biotechnology
Healthcare and biotechnology were modestly bullish.
INSM and XBI had the best timing-adjusted bought calls. BSX attracted two calls, although their deep-ITM and long-dated profiles make them look more like stock-replacement exposure than an urgent upside trade.
ZTS and TEM calls were considerably further OTM, while DOCS combined a call purchase with put-sale support. IONS and SLN were bullish primarily through put selling.
The sector has constructive breadth, but XBI and INSM provide the more useful tactical signals.
Brokers and Fintech
IBKR is beginning to attract bullish flow, led by a near-ATM call with four DTE. UPST also had bullish call activity, although its contract was far OTM and long-dated.
There was not enough confirmation from peers to call this a broader sector move. For now, IBKR looks like an isolated single-name setup rather than evidence of widespread bullish positioning across brokers or fintech.
Top Bullish Stocks Watchlist
SPCX — Bought-call dominance, sensible average moneyness and strong seven-day continuation across 18 trades. This is the strongest theme-confirmed setup, although signal quality is not optimal because the three-call cluster contains an opposing sold leg.
NBIS — Bought call plus sold put, approximately 14 average DTE and an aligned seven-day score. The two structures provide directionally consistent bullish exposure.
SNOW — Clean $1.72 million bought call with 25 DTE that was approximately 7.6% OTM. This offers the best standalone combination of structure and timing, but the trade is isolated and lacks repetition confirmation.
GLD — Two clean bought calls approximately 5.5% OTM with eight DTE. This is a strong tactical structure, although the short expiry makes it more fragile.
XBI — A secondary setup because the premium was relatively small and recent confirmation remains limited. The timing and structure are still constructive enough to keep it on the watchlist.
