These stocks are signaling the return of the market's 'Animal Spirits'

Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesThe risk-on rally that started as a rebound in semiconductors and small caps last month is now turning into full on "Animal Spirits" as bitcoin tries to break through $80,000 for the first time since February and options volume in crypto-related stocks like Strategy and Coinbase explode.Michael Saylor's Strategy is up 9% and call buying is ramping up across the options chain with call volume outpacing puts 5-to-1 in early trading. The most popular contract is the April 24 $180-strike calls. With the stock trading around $177, those roughly at-the-money contracts are implying a fifty-fifty chance of expiring profitable by Friday, a fairly tame way to place a bet on a stock that typically trades like a more volatile version of bitcoin.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconStrategy, 5 daySomeone thinks Wednesday's 5% bounce in crypto brokerage Coinbase is just the beginning. In a transaction that raised a lot of eye brows, someone spent $120,000 on 1,000 $230-strike calls in COIN expiring this Friday. Those calls will pay off if the stock surges at least another 10% in the next three trading days.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconCoinbase, 5 daysThe question is if these animal spirits will extend to Elon Musk's Tesla after earnings tonight. The stock is down 10% on the year despite the broader Nasdaq-100 making new highs. The options market is pricing in a 5.5% swing after earnings, but the stock's realized move has been smaller than expectations for three of the last four quarters. In fact, in the last two reporting periods, the stock has moved less than 3%, drastically underpricing the implied move. Stock Chart IconStock chart iconTesla, 5 daysWednesday's bullish action in more speculative, volatile names is more evidence that traders are moving past the Iran war as a major threat. The Cboe Volatility Index fell even as crude prices gained 4%, which hasn't happened much as of late.

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