>>>We’ll cover the tickers I’m most excited about right now, both bullish and bearish setups, how I decide when to pull the trigger on a trade and when to step back, and how to use Platform X alongside the News Flow Scanner — and it’s going down at 1:30 PM ET for Stonkamania!<<<
There’s nothing quite like watching massive institutional money flows to get a real sense of where the market’s heading. And what I spotted this week has me shifting from neutral to genuinely cautious about the path ahead.
I’m not going to lie — I was a little taken back Tuesday morning when I started seeing all the financial media personalities getting bullish. Being your resident contrarian, you know how I feel about that…
When the talking heads are getting excited, it’s usually time to start looking for the exits. But what really got my attention wasn’t just the media noise — it was what happened later in the day that basically confirmed my suspicions.
Smart Money Makes Big Bearish Bets
We saw some seriously BIG bears positioning against AI and big tech, and I’m talking about massive institutional flows here.
Over $34 million in put options hit the tape on two major tech giants, Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL). These weren’t retail panic trades or some hedge fund manager having a bad day.
This was calculated, professional money making significant bearish bets on the very stocks that have been leading this market higher.
When you see this kind of institutional positioning — especially when it totals over $34 million — it tells you that smart money sees something the rest of us might be missing.
These traders don’t throw around that kind of capital without serious conviction that weakness is coming.
Following the Money Trail
Here’s the thing about my approach — I’d rather follow the money than follow the noise. While everyone else was getting caught up in the bullish sentiment from the media, I was watching what the big institutional players were actually doing with their capital.
And what they were doing was loading up on puts in the very sector that’s been driving the market.
This shift has moved me from what I’d call my “slightly bearish point of view” to my “oh crap, Lance is getting a little terrified of the market point of view.”
Maybe that’s a better way to describe where I’m at right now. The combination of media euphoria and massive bearish institutional flows is exactly the kind of setup that makes me extremely cautious about what’s coming next.
Keep your eyes on these big-money moves — they’re usually telling us something important about where the market’s headed.
Order Flow:
This is for informational and educational purposes only. These are not official alerts issued by Lance, but rather some interesting orders picked by the team at Lance Ippolito Trading.
When you look at these plays, always take the market maker move into consideration.
You can be right on the direction but still lose money if the stock doesn’t move enough. That’s where the market maker move comes in clutch.
With puts, they’re often downside hedges in case a stock tanks, especially around earnings. The further out of the money they are, the more likely they are to be hedges.
Also be sure and check when the company’s earnings date is because many of the plays we post here are centered around earnings!
If a stock is really expensive, consider a spread to lower the cost.
And finally, always remember the golden rule when it comes to buying calls: Buy dips, sell rips — and don’t chase!
If a stock’s moved a ton already today, maybe wait for a pullback.
There is inherent risk in trading. Trade at your own risk.
Note: If no date is listed after the month, it’s the monthly expiration (third Friday).
The team at Lance Ippolito Trading
Lance doesn’t want the CCP spying on him, so you’ll never find him on TikTok. Same goes for other social media sites, which are filled with impersonators, scammers and crypto bros.
You can only find him on his personal YouTube Channel — smash that Subscribe button! https://www.youtube.com/@LanceIppolito
And in his private Telegram channel: https://t.me/+-gVwEIwGJhplMTgx
Important Note: No one from The TradingPub team or any of its associated brands will ever contact you directly on Telegram.
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
P.S. Stonkamania Is LIVE at 1:30 PM ET!
During Stonkamania, Christian and I will dive into:
Today is all about live trading — no fluff, just action.
- Favorite Longs & Shorts: We’ll go over the tickers I’m most excited about right now — both bullish and bearish setups you’ll want on your radar.
- Platform X + News Flow Scanner: I’ll show you how to use these tools together to zero in on the most explosive stock setups happening in real time.
- Trade Execution & Timing: How I decide when to pull the trigger — and when to step back — to keep risk tight and profits consistent.
