Daily Tape Analysis — 2026-08-11
The Story
The market drifted lower in a risk-off session: SPY -0.29%, QQQ -0.32%, with only IWM managing a +0.36% gain. Yesterday's bearish conviction bets on AVGO (-1.51%) and ADBE (-3.39%) paid off, but most bullish bets failed — ORCL dropped 3.69%, GOOG fell 3.57%, and AMZN lost 2.07% against bullish call positioning. Today's tape shows $96.6M in unusual put notional across 58 names, with AVGO leading at $13.1M (score 64) and TSLA at $21.3M (score 61, TRO confirmed). The bull side is anchored by AMD calls at $42.5M (score 61) and a massive MSTR call print of $56.1M at the 95 strike.
Bearish Bets to Watch
AVGO (score 64) — $13.1M in unusual puts, 168x V/OI, concentrated at the 420-430 strike zone across September expiries. Spot closed at $416.01, down 1.51% today and now 2.7% off its 15-day high of $427.57. Yesterday's AVGO bearish bet was right, and today's put flow doubled to $13.1M from $6.7M — the bet is compounding. No TRO confirmation.
TSLA (score 61) — $21.3M in puts, 51x V/OI, with $18.1M concentrated in the 330 strike October expiry. Spot at $332.81, up 0.58% today but still down 12.45% over the 16-day window. TRO confirmed. TSLA is two-sided: $16M in bullish calls (score 57) also hit today, making 330 the key battleground.
SPY (score 59) — $45M in puts across 16 strikes, 521x V/OI. The 775 strike Aug 21 drew $12.6M at 7.3x V/OI, and the 781 Sep 4 strike saw 48.8x V/OI. Spot at 770.57 is barely holding above the 768-770 put cluster. Yesterday's SPY bearish bet was flat; today's flow is lighter than yesterday's $80.7M but still elevated.
IWM (score 58) — $14.5M in puts, 162x V/OI, with PCR at 3.08 (defensive). The 300 strike Sep 11 drew $3.8M at 34.6x V/OI, and the 274 strike Oct 16 saw 133.7x V/OI for deep OTM protection. Spot at 300.92 sits right on the 300 strike wall. Yesterday's IWM bearish bet was flat.
MSFT (score 55) — $8.3M in puts, 73x V/OI, with $4.7M at the 500 strike Aug 21. Spot at 503.77, down 0.47% today but up 26.33% over 16 days from the post-earnings surge. MSFT also has bullish calls (score 52, TRO confirmed) at $5.6M, making this a two-sided name. Yesterday's MSFT bearish bet was flat.
Bullish Bets to Watch
AMD (score 61) — $42.5M in calls, 87x V/OI, with $32.4M at the 470 strike Sep 18. Spot at 473.99, up 0.91% today and bouncing off the 469.71 low from yesterday. Yesterday's AMD bullish bet was right. The 475 strike Sep 25 also drew $3.3M at 86.7x V/OI. No TRO confirmation.
TSLA (score 57) — $16M in calls, 42x V/OI, two-sided against the bearish put flow. The call positioning is smaller than the put side ($16M vs $21.3M), suggesting the net directional bet is bearish despite the call activity.
GOOGL (score 56) — $10.6M in calls, 383x V/OI, but the positioning is unusual: deep ITM calls at 295-315 strikes (10-14% ITM) rather than OTM upside bets. Spot dropped 3.45% today to $344.70, erasing the last week's gains. The deep ITM call buying looks more like a stock replacement or leverage play than a directional bet on a bounce.
ORCL (score 54) — $5.4M in calls, 181x V/OI, with $2.7M at the 160 strike Sep 25 (10% OTM). Spot dropped 3.69% today to $145.44, making yesterday's ORCL bullish bet a clear loser. The 160 strike call at 32.9x V/OI is an aggressive upside bet that requires a 10% move in 6 weeks.
IBM (score 45) — $21.3M in calls, 1200x V/OI, concentrated in Aug 21 expiry at 205, 208, and 212 strikes (10-14% ITM). Spot at 238.48, up 0.99% today. The 1200x V/OI on the 208 strike is the highest single-contract V/OI ratio in today's tape. These deep ITM calls expiring in 10 days suggest a short-term conviction play.
The Oracle Read
AVGO is the cleanest bearish setup: score 64, put flow doubling day-over-day, spot rolling over from the 427.57 high, and yesterday's bet already paying. AMD is the strongest bull case with $42.5M in calls and yesterday's bet working. The two-sided action in TSLA ($21.3M puts vs $16M calls) and IWM ($14.5M puts vs $6.7M calls) suggests the tape is hedging rather than committing directionally — the net put skew in both names points to downside protection dominating.
Names to Watch at the Open
- AVGO — bearish, 420 support is the line, $13.1M in puts says it breaks
- AMD — bullish, 470 strike is the magnet, $42.5M in calls with yesterday's bet paying
- TSLA — two-sided, 330 is the battleground, $18.1M in Oct puts vs $16M in calls
- SPY — bearish, 768-770 put cluster is the floor, break below opens 761
- MSTR — bullish, $56.1M call at 95 strike (84x V/OI), largest single print of the day
| Sym | Sector | Notional | V/OI | Cluster | Clust$ | Strikes | Exp | Score | D | W | M | Confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVGO | Technology | $13.1M | 168× | 2 | $8.6M | 425–430 | 2026-09-04 | 64 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| TSLA | Consumer Discretionary | $21.3M | 51× | 3 | $21.0M | 330–335 | 2026-10-16 | 61 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| SPY | Index ETF | $45.0M | 521× | 16 | $33.6M | 768–783 | 2026-08-21 | 59 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| IWM | Index ETF | $14.5M | 162× | 4 | $8.0M | 298–302 | 2026-09-11 | 58 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| MSFT | Technology | $8.3M | 73× | 3 | $6.4M | 500–510 | 2026-08-21 | 55 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| QQQ | Index ETF | $27.5M | 647× | 11 | $9.9M | 708–722 | 2026-10-30 | 46 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| AMD | Technology | $4.8M | 94× | 2 | $1.2M | 505–510 | 2026-09-25 | 40 · | ▼ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| META | Communication Services | $3.4M | 110× | 3 | $1.5M | 590–600 | 2026-08-28 | 36 · | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| GOOG | Communication Services | $3.1M | 15× | 2 | $2.6M | 315–320 | 2026-08-28 | 34 · | ▼ | ▼ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| NVDA | Technology | $4.0M | 184× | 2 | $2.1M | 217.5–220 | 2026-09-11 | 34 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| GOOGL | Communication Services | $4.5M | 17× | 3 | $1.3M | 390–395 | 2026-08-21 | 30 | ▼ | ▼ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| CVS | Health Care | $0.7M | 2× | 2 | $0.7M | 106–107 | 2026-08-21 | 30 | ▼ | ▼ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| DE | Industrials | $1.4M | 7× | 3 | $0.8M | 610–620 | 2026-09-25 | 30 | ▼ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| INTC | Technology | $1.8M | 80× | 2 | $1.5M | 94–95 | 2026-08-21 | 29 | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| ACN | Technology | $3.4M | 399× | 1 | $1.7M | 200 | 2026-08-21 | 28 | ▲ | ▲ | ▼ |
| Sym | Sector | Notional | V/OI | Cluster | Clust$ | Strikes | Exp | Score | D | W | M | Confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD | Technology | $42.5M | 87× | 4 | $40.0M | 467.5–475 | 2026-09-18 | 61 ⚠️ | ▼ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| TSLA | Consumer Discretionary | $16.0M | 42× | 3 | $12.9M | 332.5–337.5 | 2026-08-21 | 57 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| GOOGL | Communication Services | $10.6M | 383× | 3 | $3.2M | 305–310 | 2026-09-25 | 56 ⚠️ | ▼ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| IWM | Index ETF | $6.7M | 10× | 3 | $6.0M | 304–309 | 2026-09-18 | 56 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| ORCL | Technology | $5.4M | 181× | 1 | $3.4M | 160 | 2026-09-25 | 54 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▼ | ▼ | |
| MSFT | Technology | $5.6M | 46× | 5 | $2.8M | 467.5–477.5 | 2026-09-25 | 52 ⚠️ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| AAPL | Technology | $4.5M | 76× | 3 | $2.2M | 305–310 | 2026-08-21 | 49 · | ▼ | ▲ | ▲ | |
| NVDA | Technology | $26.4M | 20× | 2 | $22.4M | 215–217.5 | 2026-09-04 | 48 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| IBM | Technology | $21.3M | 1200× | 2 | $13.4M | 205–207.5 | 2026-08-21 | 45 · | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| V | Financials | $9.6M | 5× | 2 | $8.6M | 315–320 | 2026-08-21 | 44 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| DIS | Communication Services | $0.8M | 71× | 2 | $0.8M | 104–105 | 2026-09-25 | 40 · | ▲ | ▼ | ▼ | |
| WFC | Financials | $12.6M | 257× | 1 | $7.7M | 77.5 | 2026-08-21 | 40 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| COST | Consumer Staples | $4.9M | 63× | 2 | $3.4M | 930–940 | 2026-09-18 | 40 · | ▲ | ▼ | ▲ | |
| EMR | Industrials | $0.6M | 10× | 3 | $0.6M | 147–149 | 2026-08-21 | 39 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| SPY | Index ETF | $42.4M | 111× | 9 | $14.2M | 706–718 | 2026-08-31 | 39 · | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ✅ TRO |
| Sector | Names | PCR_v | PCR_o | UnusualPut$ | UnusualVol | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 15 | 0.44 | 0.52 | $38.3M | 35285 | 🟡 Caution |
| Consumer Discretionary | 11 | 0.45 | 0.66 | $23.7M | 23579 | 🟡 Caution |
| Communication Services | 10 | 0.68 | 0.80 | $15.3M | 41565 | 🟡 Caution |
| Health Care | 13 | 0.63 | 0.53 | $5.6M | 26504 | 🟡 Caution |
| Financials | 14 | 0.59 | 0.54 | $5.5M | 4962 | 🟡 Caution |
| Industrials | 11 | 0.48 | 0.59 | $5.0M | 3832 | 🟡 Caution |
| Consumer Staples | 9 | 0.69 | 0.85 | $3.0M | 1720 | 🟡 Caution |
| Energy | 3 | 0.55 | 0.36 | $0.3M | 3603 | 🟢 Risk-On |
| Materials | 1 | 0.85 | 0.86 | $0.0M | 0 | 🟢 Risk-On |
| Utilities | 3 | 0.54 | 0.74 | $0.0M | 0 | 🟢 Risk-On |
| ETF | PCR_v | PCR_o | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 0.96 | 1.40 | $45.0M | 🟡 Caution |
| QQQ | 1.07 | 0.91 | $27.5M | 🟡 Caution |
| IWM | 3.08 | 2.43 | $14.5M | 🔴 Defensive |
| Sym | Strike | Exp | Vol | OI | Vol/OI | Notional | OTM% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | 330 | 2026-10-16 | 8908 | 4581 | 1.9× | $18.1M | 0.8% |
| MSFT | 500 | 2026-08-21 | 6572 | 4191 | 1.6× | $4.7M | 0.7% |
| AVGO | 430 | 2026-09-04 | 1286 | 22 | 58.5× | $3.7M | -3.4% |
| AVGO | 430 | 2026-09-11 | 1175 | 7 | 167.9× | $3.7M | -3.4% |
| AVGO | 420 | 2026-09-11 | 1361 | 103 | 13.2× | $3.4M | -1.0% |
| GOOG | 315 | 2026-08-28 | 24506 | 1641 | 14.9× | $2.5M | 8.2% |
| NFLX | 77.5 | 2026-10-16 | 4071 | 786 | 5.2× | $2.4M | -3.6% |
| ACN | 200 | 2026-08-21 | 798 | 2 | 399.0× | $1.7M | -11.2% |
| ACN | 205 | 2026-08-21 | 646 | 9 | 71.8× | $1.7M | -14.0% |
| BMY | 62.5 | 2026-09-18 | 10455 | 1894 | 5.5× | $1.5M | 1.8% |
| INTC | 94 | 2026-08-21 | 5058 | 679 | 7.4× | $1.4M | 3.8% |
| NVDA | 220 | 2026-09-11 | 1099 | 522 | 2.1× | $1.2M | -1.2% |
| TSLA | 332.5 | 2026-08-21 | 1407 | 208 | 6.8× | $1.1M | 0.1% |
| AVGO | 425 | 2026-09-11 | 401 | 10 | 40.1× | $1.1M | -2.2% |
| AMD | 455 | 2026-09-25 | 376 | 4 | 94.0× | $1.0M | 4.0% |
Total unusual put notional: $96.6M across 10 sectors. Sectors with 🔴 Defensive signal have BOTH high PCR (>1.2) AND >$2M of unusual put buying — institutions are actively hedging there. 🟢 Risk-On means call-heavy with no defensive flow — the safest put-selling ground.
How to read the Sector Tape
The sector tape aggregates the daily option chain by GICS sector. For each sector it computes the put/call ratio (PCR) and the total notional of unusual put prints (contracts where today's volume exceeds existing open interest by 50%+). The signal tells you where institutions are positioning defensively vs. where they're comfortable being long.
- PCR (put/call ratio) — put volume ÷ call volume (or OI). Above 1.0 = puts trade more than calls (defensive). Below 0.8 = call-heavy (risk-on). The OI version is more stable; the volume version is more reactive to today's flow.
- UnusualPut$ — total notional ($ = volume × mid × 100) of put contracts where volume > 1.5× open interest AND notional > $50K. This is the UnusualWhales signal: new positions opening rather than existing ones trading hands. Large values = someone is paying up for protection.
- Signal — derived from PCR + unusual notional. 🔴 Defensive (PCR > 1.2 AND > $2M unusual) = heavy hedging — be cautious selling puts there. 🟡 Caution = some defensive flow. 🟢 Risk-On (PCR < 0.9, < $500K unusual) = calmest put-selling ground. ⚪ Neutral = mixed.
How to use it with ChainScan
The sector tape is the weather report above the single-name scanner. A bull-put-spread TAKE verdict on a name in a 🟢 Risk-On sector is high confidence — the tape confirms nobody's hedging there. A TAKE verdict on a name in a 🔴 Defensive sector should be downgraded: institutions are actively buying puts at the strikes you'd be selling, so either skip the trade, go further OTM (0.15 delta instead of 0.20), or shorten DTE to get ahead of the hedging flow. The ETF block (SPY/QQQ/IWM) gives the macro read — if QQQ is 🔴 Defensive, every tech name on the ChainScan table carries extra risk.
The top-prints table
Shows the 15 largest unusual put prints across all sectors, sorted by notional. This is where you see the actual whale activity: which symbol, which strike, which expiration, and how much money is behind it. A single $50M put print could be one institution hedging a long book (not necessarily bearish) or a fresh directional bet. When you see clusters across multiple strikes and names in the same sector, the institutional interpretation gets stronger.
🎯 Smart Money — directional-bet detection (both sides)
Two tables surface institutional directional bets. 🐻 Bearish bets (unusual put activity): names where put buying looks like a coordinated bear bet. 🐂 Bullish bets (unusual call activity): names where call buying looks like a coordinated bull bet. The conviction score separates directional bets from dispersed hedging using three features: (1) V/OI breadth — fraction of notional in contracts with V/OI > 20×, discounted by sample size; (2) strike concentration — fraction of notional in the dominant strike cluster (within 2% of spot); (3) notional scale — saturates at $5M. Score ≥70 = strong directional bet, ≥50 = moderate, ≥30 = some clustering.
The TRO columns (D/W/M) show the trend on daily/weekly/monthly timeframes. ✅ TRO Confirmed: for bearish bets, daily AND weekly both ▼ (downtrend); for bullish bets, daily AND weekly both ▲ (uptrend). The highest-conviction signals are bets in the direction TRO already confirms. A high score with TRO NOT confirmed means the option market may be ahead of the trend indicator — an early warning.
Example (bearish): LLY on 2026-07-29 had $27.7M unusual puts, V/OI up to 284×, concentrated in 5 strikes within $20 of spot, placed at the top of a 5-day rally. TRO daily red since July 15. LLY fell 4% the next day. Example (bullish): AMD on 2026-07-29 had $28M unusual calls at the bottom of a 22% crash week ($543→$425). The calls were concentrated in Aug 7 expiry (through earnings Aug 4). AMD bounced +15% the next day on a Microsoft-led chip rebound and a $14B Core Scientific deal. Both sides of the tape are predictive.
Caveat: open interest lags one day (reported from the previous close). Volume can be driven by a single large order as easily as by distributed flow. Hedging is not the same as bearish — a put buyer may be insuring a long position, not speculating. Use the tape as a confirming colour on top of technical analysis, not as a standalone forecast.