[SanDisk Soars 11%, Nearly $100 Million in Short-Term Options Flow into Storage Chip Stocks, 'AI Stock God' Suspected to Make a Comeback] BlockBeats News, September 19: On Friday, nearly $96 million worth of short-term call options flooded into SanDisk (SNDK), Micron (MU), Intel (INTC), and Marvell (MRVL) during intraday trading, with SanDisk surging over 11% at one point. These options are set to expire on October 2. Trading data shows approximately 10,000 call options for Micron, 4,200 for SanDisk, 20,000 for Intel, and 3,500 for Marvell, with a total premium of about $96 million. CNBC host Jim Cramer posted on the X platform, stating that based on the trading patterns, 'It looks like Leopold is back,' referring to AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner and his fund, Situational Awareness. According to regulatory filings, Situational Awareness previously held its two largest positions in SanDisk and Micron, with holdings of approximately $5.7 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively, as of the end of June. On September 11, the *Financial Times* reported that Aschenbrenner had rebuilt positions in AMD, Intel, SK Hynix, SanDisk, and CoreWeave through flexible options. Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott noted at the time that approximately $315 million in cumulative options premiums had flowed into AI and semiconductor-related stocks over several days. Aschenbrenner had previously drawn attention for his highly leveraged bets on AI and semiconductors. His fund suffered a 67% drop in July during a pullback in the AI sector, leading to significant position reductions. At the end of July, he stated in a letter to investors that he would 'learn the necessary lessons' and promised that future public market investments would be managed on a 'fully paid basis.' Currently, SEC filings have not disclosed the identity of the buyer behind the nearly $100 million in options, so it remains unconfirmed whether the trades are linked to Aschenbrenner. Unlike his previous use of total return swaps (TRS) for leverage, market speculation suggests he may have employed fully paid options this time. The maximum theoretical loss would be limited to the premium paid, but the short duration implies higher risks from time decay and Gamma exposure. [Original Link]