About $96 million in short-dated call options flowed into SanDisk (SNDK), Micron (MU), Intel (INTC) and Marvell (MRVL) during Friday trading on Sept. 19, according to BlockBeats. SanDisk rose more than 11% at one point in the session.
All of the contracts expire on Oct. 2. Trading data showed about 10,000 Micron call contracts, roughly 4,200 for SanDisk, around 20,000 for Intel and about 3,500 for Marvell, for a combined premium of about $96 million.
Trading pattern draws comparisons to Leopold Aschenbrenner
CNBC host Jim Cramer wrote on X that, based on the trading pattern, 「it really looks like Leopold is back」, pointing to AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner and his fund, Situational Awareness.
Regulatory filings previously showed that Situational Awareness had its two biggest positions in SanDisk and Micron, with holdings valued at about $5.7 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively, at the end of June.
On Sept. 11, the Financial Times reported that Aschenbrenner had rebuilt positions through flexible options in AMD, Intel, SK Hynix, SanDisk and CoreWeave. At the time, Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott said about $315 million in options premium had flowed into AI and semiconductor names over several days.
Buyer identity remains undisclosed
Aschenbrenner had previously drawn attention for highly leveraged bets on AI and semiconductors. His fund fell 67% during the AI-sector pullback in July, then sharply reduced positions.
In a letter to investors at the end of July, he said he would 「learn the necessary lessons」 and pledged that future public-market investments would be managed on a 「fully paid basis」.
SEC filings have not disclosed the buyer behind the nearly $100 million options trade, so there is still no confirmation that the flow came from Aschenbrenner.
Unlike his earlier use of total return swaps, or TRS, to add leverage, market speculation this time centers on fully paid options. Under that structure, the theoretical maximum loss is limited to the premium already paid, though the short maturity leaves both time decay and gamma risk elevated.