10 Hot Stocks to Watch — Thursday, August 20, 2026

Moderna stock exploded 177% to $174.38 in today's session, though the catalyst remains unclear from available news flow. The options market is flashing a contrarian warning: heavy put buying has driven the call-to-put ratio to 0.41, with 28,084 contracts flooding into $100 puts expiring August 2026—suggesting sophisticated traders are hedging against further upside or positioning for a pullback. Watch the $120 call support and $100 put floor through summer expiration.

BioNTech shares jumped 22% Wednesday as Merck and Moderna's positive personalized cancer vaccine data reignited sector enthusiasm. The biotech firm's individualized mRNA therapies stand to benefit from the expanding competitive validation of the space. Options markets are pricing conviction: call-to-put ratio sits at 2.47, with heavy volume clustering around $120 and $135 strike calls expiring in mid-2026, signaling investor appetite for sustained upside through year-end.

Coinbase rocketed 9.55% to $160.20 Wednesday as cryptocurrency stocks rallied on Clarity Act momentum and Treasury yield declines, improving risk appetite for higher-beta assets. Options traders are heavily bullish, with call volume swamping puts at a 2.94 call-to-put ratio, and notable concentration in $160 and $170 calls expiring August 2026. The divergence between volume and price—combined with President Trump's planned White House meeting with crypto executives—signals institutional confidence in regulatory tailwinds. Watch $170 as near-term resistance.

ServiceNow climbed 6.45% to $127.20 today, reclaiming an uptrend after a prolonged downturn as investors dismiss AI disruption concerns. Options flow reinforces the momentum, with a 3.11 call-to-put ratio and heavy positioning in August 2026 calls—notably $130 and $135 strikes drawing 9,500+ and 4,500+ contracts respectively. The bottoming pattern and bullish technical setup suggest traders are betting on Q3 earnings upside, with the $130 level acting as the near-term resistance to watch.

Lam Research fell 6.33% today despite industry tailwinds in semiconductor supply-chain equipment, with the broader chip rally rotating toward memory, test, and wafer-fab names. Options markets paint a starkly different picture: call volume exploded across August 2026 contracts, with 3,281 contracts trading the $320 strike and heavy positioning at $330–$355 levels, signaling deep conviction in a rebound. The C/P ratio of 3.38 underscores aggressive bullish betting. Watch $320 as near-term resistance and the $345 August-21 expiry as a key positioning date.

MARA Holdings jumped 5.6% to $9.71 as bitcoin ETF inflows and declining Treasury yields lifted crypto-correlated equities, though the stock remains well below its $23.45 52-week high. Morgan Stanley's maintained Underweight rating and $6 price target—well below current levels—underscores fundamental skepticism, contrasting sharply with sector tailwinds from Trump's planned crypto executive meeting. Options markets flash a bullish signal: a 3.09 call-to-put ratio with heavy concentration in $9.50–$10 calls expiring August 21–28, 2026, suggests traders are betting on sustained upside despite weak technicals.

Riot Platforms surged 5.39% to $20.04 as billionaire Dan Loeb added a major position and JPMorgan raised its price target to $22, citing the company's AI infrastructure optionality beyond bitcoin mining. JPMorgan disclosed that Anthropic pays 33% above-market rates for Riot's data-center capacity, underscoring tight supply dynamics. Options markets are decidedly bullish: call volume dwarfs puts at a 5.7-to-1 ratio, with heavy concentration in $20 calls expiring late August 2026, suggesting conviction in a move toward the $22 target.

Robinhood Markets jumped 4.63% Wednesday as CEO Vlad Tenev's tokenization pitch gained traction, despite analyst Tom Lee's rare bearish call for 2026. Options traders are aggressively positioning for upside, with a 7.43 call-to-put ratio and heavy volume in $96–$100 August calls—signaling conviction above current levels. Watch the $100 strike (August 21 expiry) as the key resistance; a sustained breakout could extend gains toward the 52-week high of $153.86.

Broadcom sank 4.61% today as technical charts flash bearish semiconductor signals, reversing momentum that powered the chipmaker to $495 highs this year. Rival Marvell's surge on Google's $12.2B AI partnership deal is undercutting AVGO's narrative, while analyst sentiment has shifted to "peaked for now." Yet options traders remain constructively positioned: call-to-put ratio of 1.68 and heavy August 2026 call buying at $370–$380 strikes suggest institutional confidence in mean reversion toward $370 support within three weeks.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals surged 4.52% to $552.06, eclipsing its 52-week peak of $533.67 after analyst upgrades citing 10% quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in its cystic fibrosis business. However, options markets paint a cautious picture: a 0.20 call-to-put ratio reveals heavy put buying, with 1,238 puts traded versus just 205 calls across the August 2026 expiry. The largest concentration sits at the $530 and $540 strikes—both now ITM—signaling traders are hedging against a correction. Watch the $550 technical level through next week.