Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Costco Wholesale Corp (COST), where a total volume of 25,671 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 2.6 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 170.1% of COST's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.5 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $500 strike call option expiring May 19, 2023, with 1,403 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 140,300 underlying shares of COST. Below is a chart showing COST's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $500 strike highlighted in orange:

Start slideshow:
Today's Most Active Call & Put Options of the S&P 500 »

Hershey Company (HSY) saw options trading volume of 15,855 contracts, representing approximately 1.6 million underlying shares or approximately 167.9% of HSY's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 944,490 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $240 strike call option expiring May 19, 2023, with 5,909 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 590,900 underlying shares of HSY. Below is a chart showing HSY's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $240 strike highlighted in orange:

And Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) options are showing a volume of 28,800 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 2.9 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 152.6% of GS's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.9 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $160 strike put option expiring December 15, 2023, with 2,000 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 200,000 underlying shares of GS. Below is a chart showing GS's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $160 strike highlighted in orange: