Options Traders Increase Bearish Bets on Palantir and Apple Ahead of Earnings

According to CNBC, options data showed increased bearish trading in Palantir and Apple ahead of earnings Monday afternoon. By midday, 385,000 of the 620,000 Apple options traded were puts; at least 113,000 puts appeared to be buyer-initiated, versus 64,000 calls bought. Apple put prices were in the 86th percentile of the past year, while call prices were in the 51st percentile. Options implied a move of just under 4% for Apple, compared with an average post-earnings swing of 2.5% over the past two years. Apple stock is up 25% this year and has a negative 0.65 correlation with the Nasdaq 100. Palantir put volume exceeded call volume, with put prices in the 97th percentile of the past year and call prices in the 76th percentile. Options implied an 11.5% move for Palantir, compared with a 10% average over the past two years. Its stock rallied almost 30% after its last report but fell after earnings in May. The largest Palantir trade Monday was a new position involving about 750 in-the-money 250-strike puts expiring in mid-February, for a total of $5.1 million.