10 Hot Stocks to Watch — Friday, August 28, 2026

Okta rocketed 28.6% to $172.91 on Thursday, breaking above its 52-week high as multiple Wall Street firms raised price targets in lockstep. JPMorgan, Raymond James, BMO Capital, and BofA Securities all lifted outlooks to $170–$190, with BofA upgrading from Underperform to Neutral—a significant inflection point. Options markets confirm conviction: call-to-put ratio stands at 4.0x with heavy concentration in tomorrow's $170 and $180 strikes, signaling trader expectations for sustained momentum through month-end.

Salesforce rocketed 22.58% today to $252.05, breaking into fresh 52-week highs on the back of an expanded Anthropic AI partnership and uplifted forward guidance. The options market is screaming conviction: call-to-put ratio hit 4.05, with heavy demand clustering around the $250 and $260 strikes expiring tomorrow, signaling traders expect momentum to persist. Watch $260 as the key resistance level; a close above it would confirm the breakout.

CrowdStrike Holdings vaulted 20.5% to $227.96 Thursday, riding a broad cybersecurity rally as traders rotated into defensive tech amid rate-sensitive weakness across ten of eleven S&P 500 sectors. Options flow turned decidedly bullish, with a 3.61 call-to-put ratio and heavy accumulation in $225–$240 calls expiring late August through early September, signaling conviction above current levels. Watch the $230 strike—currently out-of-the-money but drawing 14,264 contracts—as a critical resistance and potential breakout level before Jackson Hole.

Nvidia jumped 8.74% to $227.98 on renewed confidence in its AI dominance and undervaluation thesis. Options traders are aggressively buying calls, with a 2.74 call-to-put ratio and heavy volume in $225–$230 strikes expiring August 28, 2026, signaling conviction above current levels. Analyst price targets ranging $300–$400 frame a 32–76% upside, while the stock edges toward its 52-week high of $236.54—a technical inflection point to watch.

AST SpaceMobile rallied 5.52% to $68.65 today, reversing earlier SpaceX-driven weakness as investors refocus on the company's expanding sovereign satellite backlog and $3.7B liquidity cushion. Options traders are aggressively positioning for upside, with a 3.06 call-to-put ratio and heavy concentration in $62–$70 August 2026 calls totaling 12.8K contracts. The $70 strike sits just 1.9% above current levels, signaling conviction on a near-term re-rating despite persistent bearish commentary on losses and competition.

Coinbase surged 4.92% to $190.72 as the crypto exchange and Better unveiled token-backed mortgages, letting crypto holders tap home equity without liquidating assets—a first in the conforming mortgage space. Options traders are betting the momentum sticks: call volume exploded with a 5.66 call-to-put ratio, heavy positioning in $195–$202.50 strikes through early September. Watch the $200 level by Thursday's expiry; a close above signals fresh institutional interest in the crypto-finance convergence play.

Moderna shares tumbled 4.6% to $142.77 despite FDA authorization of updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2026-27 season, signaling investor disappointment over restricted eligibility limited to adults 65+ and high-risk patients. Options positioning reveals defensive hedging, with put volume surging 10,319 contracts at the $125 strike expiring September 2026, while call interest clusters around $150-$155 for late August. The stock trades near mid-range levels with mixed call-put ratio at 1.01, suggesting traders are bracing for further downside before any seasonal vaccine-demand tailwind materializes.

Broadcom jumped 4.49% today, riding the coattails of Nvidia's blowout earnings and benefiting from its role as a key infrastructure supplier in the AI data center buildout. The options market is flashing green: a 7.21 call-to-put ratio and heavy volume in $370–$380 calls expiring late August signal aggressive bullish positioning. Watch $375 as the next technical resistance; a close above that level could trigger fresh call spreads ahead of the late-August expiry.

Intel rallied 4.36% Thursday as Nvidia's blowout Q2 results and reports of potential U.S. semiconductor tariffs lifted the entire chip complex. Options traders are aggressively bullish, with call-to-put ratio at 2.73 and heavy call buying concentrated at the $92 and $95 strikes expiring Friday. Positioning suggests conviction above $92; watch whether the rally holds into Friday's micro-expiry or rolls into next week amid tariff uncertainty.

Target surged 4.28% to $159 today, reclaiming ground near its 52-week peak of $161.98 as Wall Street's confidence in CEO leadership reinforces retail resilience. Options flow turned decisively bullish with a 2.25 call-to-put ratio, anchored by heavy positioning in $165 and $170 calls expiring late August—signals traders see room to run past current levels. Watch the $165 strike as near-term resistance; a close above it could trigger fresh upside toward $177.50 by September expiration.