Today's Options Market Update

Eagerly awaited May Consumer Price Index (CPI) data arrived mostly as expected, with headline prices up 0.5% last month and core CPI, which excludes energy and food, up 0.2%. Expectations were 0.5% for headline inflation and 0.3% for core, and the numbers reinforced ideas the Federal Reserve will likely stay on hold for now. Treasury yields retreated and stocks pared earlier losses in the immediate aftermath of the report, but the market remained red as Middle East tension mounted.

"Inflation was hot but not as hot as expected," said Cooper Howard, director of fixed income research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR). "A bright spot—if you can call it that when year-over-year inflation is above 4%—is that it wasn't a surprise to the upside. The story continues to be that it's energy led. Headline annual CPI was up 4.2% but core was up 2.9%."

The S&P 500 Index fell Tuesday but closed well off its lows, staging a furious rally starting around midday after dropping by as much as 2% and approaching its 50-day moving average. 
Chip stocks got hammered again, more than wiping out gains achieved during Monday's rebound. With growing anxiety over the AI trade, some investors may be looking to lock in profits or perhaps free up capital ahead of initial public offerings ahead. New tit-for-tat military strikes sparked mounting tension early today, threatening the tenuous ceasefire and sending crude oil prices higher. Software giant Oracle (ORCL) reports after the close.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is higher today, by 2 bps to 4.55%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is unchanged today, trading at 99.93.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is higher by 10.20%, trading at 21.94.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) is higher by 3.64% to $91.40/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is unchanged at $62,145.

Ethereum (ETH) is lower by 1.00% to $1,641.

Cracker Barrel (CBRL + $9.00 to $45.30) is up nearly 25% today and is on pace for its largest intraday gain on record after the restaurant chain topped analyst estimates for Q3 and raised its full-year revenue guidance. For Q3, Cracker Barrel posted adjusted EPS of $0.29, down from $0.53 a year ago but above the consensus estimate of -$0.47. Revenue fell 2.9% year over year to $797.4 million but exceeded estimates of $777.1 million.

The company also updated its fiscal 2026 guidance, now forecasting revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.30 billion, versus prior guidance of $3.24 billion to $3.27 billion and the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. It also raised adjusted EBITDA guidance to $120 million to $125 million, up from prior guidance of $85 million to $100 million and above the consensus estimate of $92.1 million.

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino attributed the improvement to a renewed focus on service and food, including the return of classics such as its country ham dinner, along with more appealing product displays in its retail stores. The merchandising refresh includes more "Americana" items, such as shirts featuring eagles and fireworks and novelty salt-and-pepper shakers shaped like mini drills, baseball hats, and a former U.S. president. Cracker Barrel highlighted the new merchandise on its Instagram account.

Wells Fargo raised its price target on the shares to $50, and CBRL is now up nearly 35% year to date, making it one of the best performers in the 19-member S&P Composite Restaurants Index.

Option trading in CBRL currently stands at 12,929 contracts, 19x average with calls outpacing puts 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• June 18th, 2026, 45.00 put accounted for 1,624 contracts; open interest is zero contracts.
• June 18th, 2026, 55.00 call accounted for 1,186 contracts; open interest is 250 contracts.
• June 18th, 2026, 50.00 call accounted for 1,173 contracts; open interest is 102 contracts.

New 52-week highs (205 new highs today): Clover Health Investment Corp. (CLOV + $0.62 to $4.91), Coca-Cola Company (KO + $2.35 to $83.69), Digital Turbine (APPS + $0.76 to $10.61), Oscar Health Inc. (OSCR + $0.81 to $28.03)

Call activity is elevated in Comstock Resources Inc. (CRK + $0.76 to $13.43), with 8,019 calls traded so far today—35x average volume and 25x put volume. Most of the activity is concentrated in the August 21st expiration at the 14.00 strike call. While trading has been two-sided, the flow appears skewed to the buy side, with traders paying the offer on most transactions, suggesting bullish intent. The stock's 0.04 put/call ratio reinforces that constructive tone. Shares of CRK hit a 52-week low yesterday and are down 45% year to date, but they are rallying today, up more than 6%.

CSX Corp. (CSX - $0.20 to $47.08) is seeing elevated call volume, with 82,091 calls traded—45x average volume and 200x put volume. Activity is concentrated in the June 18th expiration due to the sale of a large call vertical spread. Traders sold 40,000 48.50/50.00 call vertical spreads (80,000 total contracts) for $0.20 each, slightly below the midpoint. Collective open interest was about 5,700 contracts, indicating new positioning and suggesting neutral-to-bearish intent. Interestingly, shares of CSX hit a 52-week high of $47.55 yesterday, and it appears traders may be fading that move.

Shares of Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI - $7.25 to $33.37) are down more than 17% today after the company announced plans to raise $7 billion through a package of equity offerings. Per Bloomberg, the package includes $5 billion in underwritten offerings and $2 billion in an at-the-market program, which would allow Super Micro to sell shares directly into the open market from time to time beginning "no earlier" than the third quarter. Because the plan could be dilutive to existing shareholders, investors have reacted negatively to the news.

Super Micro said it needs additional funding to buy the components required to fulfill customer orders for its artificial intelligence servers. The company said it has about $39 billion in orders and plans to use a portion of the offering proceeds to pay for the equipment needed to build those servers.

Shares of SMCI had rallied more than 150% from late March to early June before pulling back. Today's decline pushed the stock below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $35.96.

Option trading in SMCI currently stands at 354,564 contracts, 4x the average daily volume with calls outpacing puts 2:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• June 12th, 2026, 35.00 put accounted for 13,558 contracts; open interest is 1,702 contracts.
• June 12th, 2026, 36.00 call accounted for 7,915 contracts; open interest is 1,085 contracts.
• June 12th, 2026, 33.00 put accounted for 7,772 contracts; open interest is 55 contracts.

New 52-week lows (92 new lows today): Paranovus Entertainment (PAVS - $0.51 to $0.51), Chewy Inc. (CHWY - $0.28 to $20.12), UWM Holding Corp. (UWMC - $0.07 to $2.41), Lucid Group Inc. (LCID - $0.31 to $4.84)

Unusual put activity is showing up in 3M Company (MMM + $1.70 to $158.09) today, with 15,811 puts traded—4x average volume and 1.5x call volume. The largest trade, accounting for most of the activity, was a vertical spread in the June 12th expiration. Traders bought more than 6,000 of the 157.50/152.50 put verticals, through multiple blocks, for an average price of $0.65. The 157.50 strike purchase appears to represent new positioning, while the 152.50 strike looks like a close of prior longs. Traders appear to be rolling up their long put positions after MMM shares jumped to nearly $163.00 earlier this morning following comments by the company's CEO at the Wells Fargo Industrial Conference, where he expressed confidence in Q2 growth guidance and said momentum continues to build.

Unusual put activity is showing up in Vishay Intertechnology (VSH - $3.58 to $54.99) today, with 2,973 puts traded—2x average volume and 0.67x call volume. Nearly all the flow is concentrated in the June 18th expiration, driven primarily by purchases of the 40.00 and 50.00 strike puts. In total, traders have bought more than 2,200 contracts across the two strikes, with most transactions going up at the offer. Open interest suggests these are new positions and bearish in nature. Shares of VSH have risen sharply year to date, gaining more than 300% and setting a 52-week high of $66.65 yesterday before pulling back.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX + 2.90 to 21.82) has been on both sides of the unchanged line today (the intraday range is 17.52-22.44), as equity markets are lower around the midday mark (DJI - 291, SPX - 115, $COMP - 703). VIX option volume is above average today at 553,446 contracts, and calls are outpacing puts ~2:1 so far today.