Chip stocks are swinging higher today, thanks to a big earnings beat for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). While AMD stock was last seen up 13% and fresh off an 11-year high of $18.45, the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was last seen trading up 0.7% at $106.71. Nevertheless, one speculator appears to be betting on a quick retreat for semiconductors, initiating a bearish put spread using SMH options.

Taking a quick step back, around 97,000 calls and 26,000 puts have changed hands on SMH so far -- nearly three times what's typically seen, and volume pacing in the 98th annual percentile. The bulk of the activity has centered at the September 90 and 100 puts, where matching blocks of 19,100 contracts changed hands around the same time earlier.

According to Trade-Alert, this activity appears to be at the hands of one trader who opened a long put spread in the back-month series for an initial cash outlay of nearly $2.6 million (19,100 contracts * $1.36 net debit * 100 shares per contract). This is also the most the speculator stands to lose, should SMH remain at or above the century mark through September options expiration.

The trader will begin to profit on a move south of breakeven at $98.64 (bought 100 strike, less net debit). However, by also selling the lower-strike put versus playing a long put outright, they've also capped their potential profit at $8.64 per spread (difference between the two strikes, less the net debit), no matter how far the shares might fall.

This bearish positioning by options traders just echoes a growing trend. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the exchange-traded fund's (ETF) 10-day put/call volume ratio of 6.37 ranks in the 78th annual percentile, meaning puts have been bought to open over calls at a quicker-than-usual clip.

Considering SMH is boasting a 77% year-to-date advance, some of this put activity could be of the protective kind. Whatever the reason, short-term puts are currently more attractively priced compared to their call counterparts. The fund's 30-day implied volatility skew of 25.7% ranks in the 25th annual percentile.

The shares of BioTelemetry Inc (NASDAQ:BEAT) are soaring today, after the mobile cardiac monitoring specialist received a big bull note after last night's earnings report. BEAT stock was last seen trading up 10.7% at $54 -- fresh off a record high of $57.35 -- pacing toward its best day since April 26.

The Pennsylvania-based firm reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share on $101.4 million in revenue -- well above the consensus estimate of a per-share profit of 30 cents on $95.9 million in revenue.

The quarterly results attracted a round of upbeat brokerage notes, with no fewer than four analysts hiking their BEAT price targets. The most optimistic outlook came from Lake Capital, which lifted its price target to $90 from $50 -- an 84% premium to last night's close -- citing optimism surrounding the Apple partner's LifeWatch integration and the "tremendous momentum" of its Research Services segment.

Analysts are already bullish on BEAT stock, with all four in coverage maintaining a "buy" rating. Plus, the average 12-month price target is docked at $63, representing expected upside of 15% to the equity's current perch.

However, a round of short covering could help BioTelemetry stock add to its 81% year-to-date gain -- and could potentially be fueling today's fire. The 2.93 million shares sold short represent 9.1% of BEAT's float, and would take 11.4 days to cover, at the security's average daily pace of trading.

Facebook's earnings report is destroying the tech sector today, though the Dow is holding positive territory. Three names traders should keep a close eye on are media ratings firm Nielsen N.V. (NYSE:NLSN), chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI), and metals specialist Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC). While shares of NLSN and NXPI are sliding, ARNC is getting a boost.

NLSN In Danger Of Analyst Downgrades

NLSN stock earlier hit an all-time low of $21.49, and was last seen down 24.3% at $22.38, after the company missed top- and bottom-line estimates for the second quarter, and gave a weak outlook for the current quarter. Plus, CEO Mitch Barns announced he'll be retiring at the end of the year. Overall, the shares have shed almost half their value in the past 12 months.

While there's yet to be even one bear note on NLSN following the disappointing earnings release, traders should be wary of downgrades going forward. By the numbers, nine of the 11 brokerage firms covering the equity have "buy" or "strong buy" ratings on Nielsen.

NXPI Stock Falls After Qualcomm Ditches Buyout

NXP Semiconductors is selling off after Qualcomm said it was abandoning its deal to buy the company due to a lack of Chinese regulatory approval. Even though the company responded with a plan for a $5 billion buyback, NXPI remains down 6.3% at $92.20, and earlier fell to a nearly two-year low of $90.25. This is near the area where the equity bottomed after earnings back in early May, and going back further, NXPI traded as high as $125.93 back in February. Adding insult to injury is a price-target cut to $105 from $127.50 at Morgan Stanley. More brokerage notes could come through following today's news, since 10 of the 11 covering analysts are sitting on the fence with "hold" ratings.

ARNC Jumps On Takeover Report

Arconic stock is surging today, up 11.4% at $21.45, on pace for its best close since April, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was considering takeover offers from private equity firms. While the shares are still well below their January highs near $31, they're set for their first close atop the 100-day moving average since February.

Meanwhile, short sellers have been moving in on ARNC, with the number of shorted shares rising by 15.9% in the last reporting period. It would now take over five sessions to buy back all the shares held short on the stock, going by average daily trading volumes.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) is gearing up for its fiscal first-quarter earnings report after the close today, and options traders are piling on. The video game stock has cooled off lately, but could be poised to climb again in the coming weeks, if history is any guide. 

The options market is pricing in a 7.4% next-day swing for EA stock, regardless of direction. This compares to the 4.3% single-session post-earnings move the shares have averaged over the past eight quarters -- where all but two reactions were positive. Last May, EA stock added nearly 6% the day after reporting, on its way to a fresh record high. 

Ahead of the big event, options traders are coming out in droves. Over 95,000 EA options have changed hands today -- 12 times what's typically seen at this point and volume pacing for the 100th percentile of its annual range. Most popular today are the August 150 and 165 calls, although most of the action appears to be the possible roll of a spread to the September 130 put and September 150 and 170 calls. Separately, it looks like one trader may have initiated a bull call spread at the August 143 and 150 calls, buying to open the former and selling to open the latter.

Whatever the motive, today's appetite for short-term calls is par for the course. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.16 indicates that open calls handily outnumber puts among options expiring within three months. In fact, EA's SOIR is at the bottom of its annual range, suggesting near-term traders haven't been more call-biased in the past year.

Looking at the charts, Electronic Arts stock is down 2% to trade at $143.51 today, after notching a record high just above the $151 level on July 13. However, this recent pullback takes EA to a key trendline with bullish implications.

The stock is now within one standard deviation of its 40-day moving average, after a lengthy stretch above this trendline. There have been nine other times over the last three years where EA has pulled back to its 40-day after trading above it for a significant length of time. Following those nine prior signals, the security went on to average a gain of 3.73% over the next month, and was higher 78% of the time, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. A similar uptick from current levels would put the stock back near $149.

Next week will be a busy one on Wall Street, with both the economic and earnings calendars packed full of potential market-moving events. In addition to the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) two-day policy-setting meeting -- where a rate hike isn't expected -- the July jobs report is due on Friday. Meanwhile, a number of blue chips are set to report, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will extend its stay in the spotlight when it reports earnings.

Below is a brief list of some key market events scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

The pending home sales index and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey are due on Monday, July 30. Caterpillar (CAT), AK Steel (AKS), Athenahealth (ATHN), Bloomin' Brands (BLMN), NutriSystem (NTRI), Papa John's (PZZA), Seagate Technology (STX), SunPower (SPWR), and Transocean (RIG) will report earnings.

Tuesday, July 31, brings updates on personal income and spending and the employment cost index. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index, Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI), and consumer confidence will also hit the Street, and the Fed's two-day policy-setting meeting kicks off.

Dow members Apple (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), and Procter & Gamble (PG) will tell all in the earnings confessional. Quarterly results from Akamai Technologies (AKAM), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), bluebird bio (BLUE), BP (BP), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Cummins (CMI), Groupon (GRPN), Lumber Liquidators (LL), Pandora (P), Ralph Lauren (RL), Shopify (SHOP), Stamps.com (STMP), and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) will report, as well.

July vehicle sales will roll in on Wednesday, Aug. 1. ADP will release its private-sector payrolls report, while the Markit purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), the Institute for Supply Managers (ISM) manufacturing index, construction spending, and weekly crude inventories update are also expected. Additionally, the Fed is expected to release its latest policy decision at 2 p.m. ET.

The earnings lineup runs deep. Among those set to report are Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), Express Scripts (ESRX), FireEye (FEYE), Fitbit (FIT), Garmin (GRMN), Humana (HUM), Marathon Oil (MRO), Molson Coors Brewing (TAP), Qorvo (QRVO), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Square (SQ), Tesla (TSLA), TripAdvisor (TRIP), U.S. Steel (X), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), and Yelp (YELP).

Weekly jobless claims and factory orders will be in focus on Thursday, Aug. 2. Earnings from DowDuPont (DWDP), Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Aetna (AET), Becton Dickinson (BDX), GoDaddy (GDDY), GoPro (GPRO), MGM Resorts International (MGM), Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS), Pinnacle Foods (PF), Shake Shack (SHAK), Tableau Software (DATA), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), and Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) will be released.

The Labor Department's monthly payrolls report will be the marquee event on Friday, Aug. 3. Wall Street will also get the latest international trade data, the ISM non-manufacturing index, and the Baker-Hughes rig count. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Kraft Heinz (KHC), and Noble Energy (NBL) will report earnings.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) stock is trading down 16.7% ahead of the open, as the tutoring company's disappointing current-quarter revenue forecast overshadows better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results. In addition, Muddy Waters, which is short TAL, accused the Chinese firm of reporting fraudulent profits, as well as "misleading investors about the health of its core Peiyou business."

On the charts, TAL stock pulled back after scoring a record high of $47.63 on June 12, and since then, has churned between the $36-$41 area. Should today's expected price action play out -- which would have TAL logging its worst day since May 2014 -- the shares could breach that $36 level, which also coincides with their 160-day moving average. Nevertheless, the equity has added 37% as of yesterday's close at $40.82.

Short sellers have started to target the sinking stock alongside Muddy Waters, with short interest up by nearly 13% in the most recent reporting period. However, the 14.15 million shares sold short represents a meager 2.9% of TAL's total available float, indicating there is ample room aboard the bearish bandwagon.

Should the shares continue to slide, there's ample room for analysts to downwardly revise their outlooks -- which could create more selling pressure. Of the 25 brokerages covering TAL stock, 19 maintain a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the average 12-month price target sits at $43.27.

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) are lower in early trading after the company last night announced that both CEO John Milligan and Chairman John Martin will step down by year's end. On top of this news, Gilead also reported a second-quarter earnings beat. At last check, GILD is down 2.6% at $76.86. 

Following this slew of news, the stock has received one downgrade and three price-target hikes. Most notably, the singular downgrade came from Baird, to "neutral" from "outperform," while RBC raised its price target to $90 from $87. Longer term, GILD has been moving higher following its early May lows near $64, recently breaking back above the 200-day moving average, putting its year-to-date gain to healthy 7.7%.

Analyst attention has mostly been positive for the stock, as 14 of the 21 in coverage are optimistic, sporting "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations. Echoing this sentiment, Gilead stock's average 12-month price target of $87.04 stands at a premium to current trading levels.

Digging into options data, Gilead Sciences stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) comes in at 4.08, ranking in the 85th annual percentile. This lofty ratio indicates that calls have been purchased over puts at a faster-than-usual clip during the past two weeks of trading.

Lastly, GILD's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) comes in at 83 out of a possible 100. This indicates that the stock has tended to make outsized moves relative to what the options market has priced in over the past year. This could be a boon to those buying premium on the pharma stock.

By now, the post-earnings sell-off for the shares of Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is well-known around Wall Street. Though the social media name reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit of $1.74 on Wednesday, quarterly sales grew 42% to $13.2 billion -- their slowest pace in almost three years. Plus, the company warned profit margins will be negatively impacted over the next several years due to rising privacy costs and slowing usage in large advertising markets.

FB stock is down 18.1% at the open to trade at $178.05 -- on track for its worst day ever -- with a loss of this magnitude wiping more than $100 billion off of Facebook's market cap since last night's close, the biggest loss on record to a company's one-day loss in market capitalization. But while the shares are now in the red on a year-to-date basis -- and have the Nasdaq and S&P 500 Index lagging the Dow in today's trading -- they are holding above their post-bull gap highs from late April.

Analysts have been quick to chime in on FB after earnings, too. While Raymond James downgraded the security to "outperform" from "strong buy," UBS lowered its rating to "neutral" from "buy." Additionally, Baird joined an onslaught of brokerage firms that cut their Facebook price targets -- slashing its to $195 from $210 on the "bombshell" earnings news.

Options traders are rushing FB post-earnings, too. With roughly 30 minutes of trading under our belt, around 269,000 calls and 145,000 puts have changed hands -- 15 times what's typically seen at this point in the day, and volume pacing in the 100th annual percentile.

Not surprisingly, short-term Facebook options are pricing in sky-high volatility expectations, per the stock's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility (IV) of 38.5% -- in the 96th annual percentile. Nevertheless, it's been bullish options prices that have spiked amid today's sell-off, per FB's 30-day IV skew at 1.6%, which ranks in the 1st percentile of its 12-month range, meaning calls have rarely been cheaper than puts over the last year.

Software specialist Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is rallying after earnings for a second straight quarter, after the company's second-quarter results topped estimates. Adjusted earnings for the period came in at $1.28 per share compared to an average forecast for $1.20, and revenue of $742 million was way above the consensus view of $717 million. As such, CTXS stock is up 5.7% at $115.43, already hitting an all-time high of $116.82.

And also like last quarter's report, analysts are reacting quickly, with at least eight so far raising their price targets. In fact, Stifel, RBC, Cowen, and Baird all hiked their price targets for Citrix Systems to $120. It may be surprising to note, however, that just three of the 16 brokerage firms that cover CTXS recommend buying it, even though it's up almost 38% during the past 12 months. This setup actually helped land the equity on a list of stocks contrarian traders should consider right now, produced by our Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.

Analysts aren't the only ones that have been betting against the equity. Short interest has continued to rise, including a 21.7% jump in the past two reporting periods, and now represents 8.4% of the float. If you go by the stock's average daily trading volume, it would take short sellers nearly two weeks to cover their positions.

There was some bullish activity in the options pits leading up to earnings, however. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 18.71, which ranks in the 90th annual percentile. So while options volume has been light on an absolute basis, call buying has still been the predominant trend. Of course, some of that activity may have been from shareholders hedging their positions.

Last week, short seller Citron Research tweeted that AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) stock is on its way to $60, calling it "the next great drug short." Since then, and ahead of earnings on Friday, July 27, ABBV put buying has been accelerated, suggesting options traders are betting bearishly on the pharmaceutical stock. Today, however, AbbVie shareholders appear to be shrugging off the first of Citron's bearish reports on the firm, with the stock up 1.6% at $93.04.

Specifically, Citron cited a "double whammy" for AbbVie last week: a speech from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Chairman Scott Gottlieb, where he criticized companies trying to delay or derail biosimilar competition; and "a proposed change in government policy to get rid of the safe harbor provision and eliminate the rebates that have allowed AbbVie to maintain dominance." Assuming the government acts, Citron says, AbbVie -- "one of the worst abusers" of the system with "egregious pricing practices" -- will head much lower.

ABBV stock gapped lower last Thursday after the aforementioned Citron tweet, hitting a year-to-date low of $86.76 in the following session. However, the shares seem to have found support from a familiar ally in the round-number $90 region. This level contained ABBV's pullback earlier this year, and represents a 50% Fibonacci retracement of the stock's rally from its October 2016 closing low of $55.78 to its January 2018 closing high of $123.21. It's also home to ABBV's ascending 320-day moving average.

However, it seems recent options buyers are expecting AbbVie stock to retreat in the short term, with put buying ramping up ahead of the company's earnings release. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock has racked up a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.01 -- in the 96th percentile of its annual range. This indicates that options buyers have picked up ABBV puts over calls at a near annual-high clip in the past two weeks.

The August 75 and September 85 puts saw notable increases in open interest in that time frame, with more than 2,900 contracts added at each strike. Data from the major exchanges indicates a healthy portion of the puts were bought to open. By buying the puts to open, the speculators expect ABBV to breach the $75 and $85 levels by August and September options expiration, respectively. It's worth noting, though, that the pharma stock moved higher after its last three earnings reports, including a one-day pop of 13.8% in January.

Whether bullish or bearish, recent premium buyers can perhaps rest a little easier knowing ABBV stock has tended to exceed options traders' volatility expectations in the past year. This is evidenced by the equity's lofty Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 90 out of 100.

Wall Street has trade on the mind again, and most stocks are struggling for gains as a result. Three names making notable moves are Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), drugmaker Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACOR), and aging specialist resTORbio, Inc. (NASDAQ:TORC). Below, we'll break down today's trading on shares of F, ACOR, and TORC.

Ford Faces Lowest Close In Years Before Earnings

General Motors' lowered outlook is weighing on Ford stock ahead of the company's post-close earnings release this evening. In fact, the shares are set for their lowest close since 2012, earlier bottoming at $10.12, and down roughly 4% on the day. This means the stock has now shed 16.7% since peaking at $12.15 back on June 12. 

While the vast majority of analysts are already bearish on the auto giant, there remain three questionable "strong buy" or "buy" ratings, and the average 12-month price target remains up at $12.12, now more than a 19% premium to current levels. In other words, there's danger for an onslaught of price-target reductions to add to Ford's woes, should the Detroit darling have a rough turn in the earnings spotlight.

ACOR Shares Slide on Court Ruling

ACOR stock is down 12.2% at $25.20, after a court ruled to allow at least temporary production of generic versions of the company's multiple sclerosis drug, Ampyra. Specifically, a U.S. appellate court denied Acorda's request to temporarily block Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) and other firms from selling generic Ampyra during a review of a lower court decision on patents.

However, the stock earlier bounced near its 200-day moving average. And while the equity is short-sale restricted today, a number of short sellers recently closed out and missed today's pullback. Specifically, short interest fell by 24.2% in the last two reporting periods, though more than 12% of the float remains dedicated to short interest.

Mid-Stage Trial Results Lift TORC

resTORbio shares have jumped more than 56% to trade at $14.12, after trading as high as $20.60 earlier, thanks to upbeat mid-stage trial results for a respiratory tract infection drug -- the fourth leading cause of hospitalizations for people over 65, according to the company. TORC's peak today was near the site of its record highs from late February, as well as its highs from its IPO day back in January.

Until today's breakout, the equity traded mostly between $8 and $12 since April, and short interest had been on the rise. In the last two reporting periods, the number of shares sold short jumped 80.4% to 2.33 million. Analysts, on the other hand, love the stock, with all four in coverage handing out "strong buy" recommendations.

Two biotech names to watch in the next month are Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY) and ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN). Both stocks have struggled recently, but could both be poised to snap out of their funk soon if history is any guide.

Array Biopharma Options Are Attractively Priced

Although Array Biopharma stock is up 1.1% to trade at $16.21 today, the biotech name has struggled since topping at a record high just above the $20 level on June 21. In the past month, ARRY has shed 14% and pulled back to a key trendline.

The stock is now within one standard deviation of its 160-day moving average, after a lengthy stretch above this trendline. There have been four other times over the last three years where ARRY has pulled back to its 160-day after trading above it for a significant length of time. Following those four prior signals, the security went on to average a gain of 19% over the next month, and was higher 75% of the time, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. A similar burst from current levels would put the stock back near record-high territory.

In the options pits, calls are prevalent in the past 10 days, despite limited volume. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculative players have bought to open 835 calls in the last 10 sessions, compared to just 85 puts. Plus, unusually low volatility expectations are being priced into near-term ARRY options, based on its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 59% -- ranking in the low 21st annual percentile. 

ImmunoGen Stock Ripe For A Short Squeeze

Turning to ImmunoGen, the drugmaker is down 0.9% to trade at $9.85 at last check. Although sporting a 54% year-to-date lead, IMGN has churned between the $9.50-$12 levels for the past four months. 

This consolidation also coincides with a brush up against the shares' 160-day moving average. According to White, there have been three other times over the last three years where IMGN has pulled back to its 160-day after trading above it for a significant length of time. Following those three prior signals, the stock went on to average a gain of 7.5% over the next month.

A short squeeze could provide more tailwinds for the biotech name. Short interest has only gained 4% in the most recent reporting period, yet the 16.23 million shares sold short still represent 18% of IMGN's total available float. At the security's average pace of trading, it would take nearly seven days to buy back the bets.

For ImmunoGen, the attitude in the options pits is equally call-skewed. ISE/CBOE/PHLX data shows speculative players have bought to open 878 calls in the last 10 sessions, compared to just 21 puts. The resultant call/put volume ratio ranks in the 94th percentile of its annual range, indicating a much healthier-than-usual appetite for long calls over puts during the past two weeks. What's more, now seems to be a great time to target short-term options on IMGN. This is according to its SVI of 74%, which ranks in the 15th percentile of its annual range.