Topics covered:
1) 0:00 Announcements
2) 2:00 Market Commentary and Index Review (Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Russell 2000)
3) 7:30 Stock Review – Energy: XLE (ETF), XOP (ETF), OIH (ETF), USO (ETF), OXY, DVN, MPC, EOG, VLO
4) 10:35 Stock Review – Watch List/General Ideas/Commentary: LLY, MRK, BMY, ALB, LTHM, ENVX, PRCT, LNTH, HALO, CELH, SMCI
5) 16:30 Conclusion/Summary

Market Summary:
After Tuesday’s Follow Through Day (FTD), I emailed a Market Note saying that I would be open-minded to it working, but to still be defensive until the market proves itself better. Unfortunately, Wednesday saw the market give back the prior 3 days of gains and it was a distribution day for the S&P 500. That’s something you DON’T want to see immediately after a FTD. Also, in Tuesday’s interview with the Wall Street Journal, Fed Chair Powell said: “We need to see inflation coming down in a convincing way. That is what we need to see. Until we see that, we are going to keep going.” In other words, let’s not forget the overall backdrop that the Fed is still raising rates and taking liquidity out of the system.

Conclusion: Stay defensive and be patient. The market continues to see strength being sold into and the Fed is hawkish. Let’s not overcomplicate things. Of course, we will see counter rallies along the way, but they seem to get shorter and shorter, showing how weak this market really is. I honestly prefer that members don’t do much trading, but if you are going to trade, PLEASE keep things light, get strong entries, and make sure to stick to a loss cutting discipline. I will try to do a webinar this weekend and keep you posted as soon as I finalize the date. Thank you and good luck for the remainder of the week.

Unusual Option Activity
5/18/22 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) with 3000 Sep. 30th (Q) $383 puts opening for $5.5M this morning
5/18/22 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) size buyers of 30,000 June $381 puts today at $5.71+
5/18/22 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) this afternoon size buyers June $374 puts 30,000X for $20M after the big buys in the $381 puts this morning
5/18/22 Enovix Corp (ENVX) with 1000 June $10 calls bought for $1.15 today
5/18/22 EQT (EQT) with 1000 January 2024 $60 calls bought today for $5.80 to $6.10
5/18/22 EQT (EQT) also seeing 40,000 Jan 2024 $40 calls close and adjust higher to buy the $65 calls 70,000X for $5.10
5/18/22 Apple (AAPL) with 10,000 June 3rd (W) $147 calls sold to open for $2.06/$2.07
5/18/22 Oil Services (OIH) with 6000 Oct $245 puts opening $21.70 as July $245 adjust, large position with nearly $15M value
5/18/22 Exxon (XOM) with 1000 June 3rd (W) $92 puts sold to open for $2.34 today
5/18/22 Micron (MU) with the July $67.50/$60 put spread being bought 3550X7100 for a small $0.15 debit
5/17/22 Bristol Myers (BMY) seeing 2750 July $75 puts sold to open down to $1.38
5/17/22 Bristol Myers (BMY) also buyers of 6000 June $82.50 calls up to $0.40
5/17/22 Merck (MRK) with 1000 June 2023 $85 puts sold to open for $5.70
5/17/22 Diamondback (FANG) the June $122.65 puts sold to open today for $4.30
5/17/22 Occidental (OXY) July $75 calls being bought 2785X for $4.33, adjusting some May $60 ITM calls higher and out
5/17/22 Occidental (OXY) also a buyer of 17,000 June $70 calls for $4.35 and spread with the $85 calls sold for $0.76
5/17/22 Guardant Health (GH) another 500 Dec 40/60 call spreads bought
5/17/22 Mosaic (MOS) size buyers for nearly 6000 September $70 calls at $5.95 offer
5/17/22 CF Industries (CF) large bull flow as 3100 August $115 calls are bought for $7.99
5/17/22 Exxon (XOM) buyers of 2000 November $120 calls for $1.46 to $1.48
5/17/22 Apple (AAPL) sales to open 10,000 July 1st (W) $165 calls $1.32 to $1.20
5/17/22 Taiwan Semi (TSM) seller of 1500 September $90 calls to open at $8.80 bid
5/17/22 Tesla (TSLA) with 1000 September 2023 $350 puts sold to open today from $37.05 to $36.50
5/16/22 Biotech ETF (XBI) buyers of 5500 June $75 calls this morning $2.86 offer
5/16/22 Chemours (CC) with 1500 July $42 calls opening $1.60 to $1.70
5/16/22 Apple (AAPL) with 12,500 July $155 calls sold to open today for $4.25/$4.30
5/16/22 EOG Resources (EOG) opening seller 1350 OTM October $84 puts for $2.45
5/16/22 Occidental (OXY) the August $80/$95 call spread being bought 2000X for $2.50
5/16/22 Sinclair (DINO) opening sale of 1,500 January $45 puts for $6.20
5/16/22 Amazon (AMZN) with 1000 June 3rd (W) $2300/$2400 call spreads opening
5/16/22 Halliburton (HAL) buyers of 5000 August $39/$30 bull risk reversals for $1.88 debit
5/16/22 Chevron (CVX) with 4000 September $115 puts sold to open for $1.06
5/13/22 Zillow (Z) buyer late of 5000 June $50/$55 call spreads for $0.47
5/13/22 Apple (AAPL) with 10,000 August $120 puts sold to open late in the day for $3.30