Significant Monday Options Action: ALB, VLO, SNPS

Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Albemarle Corp. (Symbol: ALB), where a total volume of 28,432 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 2.8 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 68.6% of ALB’s average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.1 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $120 strike call option expiring December 19, 2025, with 7,194 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 719,400 underlying shares of ALB. Below is a chart showing ALB’s trailing twelve month trading history, with the $120 strike highlighted in orange:

Valero Energy Corp (Symbol: VLO) options are showing a volume of 15,716 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 61.4% of VLO’s average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $165 strike put option expiring January 02, 2026, with 5,008 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 500,800 underlying shares of VLO. Below is a chart showing VLO’s trailing twelve month trading history, with the $165 strike highlighted in orange:

And Synopsys Inc (Symbol: SNPS) saw options trading volume of 12,366 contracts, representing approximately 1.2 million underlying shares or approximately 56.1% of SNPS’s average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.2 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $450 strike call option expiring December 05, 2025, with 923 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 92,300 underlying shares of SNPS. Below is a chart showing SNPS’s trailing twelve month trading history, with the $450 strike highlighted in orange: