3 AI Stocks Making Moves in the Options Pits

Semiconductor concern Nvidia (NVDA) crossed the $1 trillion market cap milestone, joining a small group of mega--cap tech stocks to do so. The new is helping to boost the tech sector, and three stocks in particular are enjoying tailwinds. 

First up, artificial intelligence (AI) specialist C3.ai Inc (NYSE:AI) was last seen 17% higher to trade at $38.55, and earlier hit a roughly 18-month high of $41.30. Further adding to C3.ai's tailwinds today is news that the company's C3 Generative AI is now available on Amazon Workspace's (AWS) Marketplace. In 2023, C3.ai stock is already up nearly 250%.

Options traders are taking note, too. The equity has already seen four times the average intraday volume, with 151,000 calls and 71,000 puts traded so far. New positions are opening at the four most popular contracts, led by the weekly 6/2 40-strike call. 

Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) is also trading near 18-month highs and capturing call traders' attention on the back of hype around AI. The shares were last seen up 7.2% at $14.64, and adding to a 128.7% year-to-date lead.

So far today, 364,000 bullish bets have been exchanged -- double the amount typically seen at this point -- though 121,000 puts have also crossed the tape. The two most popular contracts, the weekly 6/2 15- and 16-strike calls, respectively, are seen new positions being opened. 

Lastly, UiPath Inc (NYSE:PATH) is up 5.6% at $16.50 at last glance. While it's one of the quieter names in the AI-space, PATH still stands 29.7% higher in 2023, though it is slightly lower over the last 12 months. 

UiPath stock's normally quiet options pits are exploding with activity. At last glance, 24,000 calls and 3,497 puts have changed hands, which is six times the volume typically seen at this point. The most popular contract is the July 20 call, followed by the January 19, 2024 15-strike put, with new positions are opening at both.