The Option Block 1505: Call Paloozas, Surprise Trillionaires, and Secret Plague

Unusual call activity lights up Pacific Biosciences and United Microelectronics as tech stocks climb and volatility retreats. Mark Longo, Andrew Giovinazzi and Mike Tosaw break down the options market, debate potential trillion-dollar IPO valuations and take a strange detour into secret Russian plague-lab headlines.

On this episode:
• NVIDIA and Tesla battle for the top spot in single-stock options activity, with updates on Meta, Apple, AMD and other active names.
• PACB's rally draws large December call trades.
• Long-dated UMC calls raise questions about whether traders are buying upside or selling premium.
• VIX and VVIX retreat as the panel weighs volatility calls, inexpensive puts and potential election risk.
• Mike explains how covered call ladders can help investors gradually exit concentrated, appreciated stock positions while collecting premium.
• The crew shares what they're watching next in Treasury yields, equities and volatility.