U.S. stock futures are headed lower this morning, as Wall Street catches its breath in the wake of last week’s blow-out gains. The earnings calendar is a bit thin this morning, but heavy hitters like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) will spice things up later in the week. Furthermore, October nonfarm payrolls will hit this Friday.

Against this backdrop, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.27%, S&P 500 futures have shed 0.23% and Nasdaq-100 futures have dipped 0.01%.

On the options front, volume was extremely heavy on Friday, as some 23.8 million calls and 17.6 million puts crossed the tape yesterday. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio plunged to a two-month low of 0.55, prompting the 10-day moving average to tick lower to 0.65.

Taking a closer look at Friday’s options activity, corporate earnings reports were the big driver among options traders. Apple attracted a preponderance of call activity ahead of its Thursday fiscal fourth-quarter report, with volume nearly tripling the stock’s daily average. Facebook’s volume was also more than double the average ahead of its trip to the earnings confessional on Wednesday. Finally, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) saw volume rise to about 1.5 times the average heading into its fiscal second-quarter report on Thursday.

Apple Inc (AAPL)

AAPL stock options traders are pricing in a post-earnings move of about 3.75% this week. What’s more, the recent attention to calls has driven the weekly Nov 3 put/call open interest ratio steadily lower heading into the report. This reading now rests at 0.73, which is down considerably from its mid-October reading in the low 0.90s.

Friday’s volume likely helped drive expectations higher for AAPL stock. Volume topped 977,000 contracts and nearly tripled Apple’s daily average. What’s more, calls made up 70% of the day’s take, indicating a rising bullish bias for AAPL stock.

Diving into the numbers, Apple is expected to report a profit of $1.86 per share on revenue of $51.17 billion. That said, iPhone 8 sales figures will likely be a bigger driver for AAPL stock, as well as expectations for the iPhone X, which is already heavily backordered.

Facebook Inc (FB)

FB stock has also attracted a heavy bullish bid ahead of this week’s quarterly earnings report. Currently, weekly Nov 3 implieds are pricing in a post-earnings move of about 4.4% for Facebook stock, putting the upper bound near $185 and the lower bound at about $170.

Volume on Friday revealed a heavy call preference from options traders, with these typically bullish bets making up 75% of the more than 494,000 contracts traded on FB stock. Overall, the Nov 3 put/call OI ratio has fallen to a perch at 0.58 heading into Wednesday’s report, indicating the investors believe that FB stock is a keeper through earnings.

As for earnings expectations, Wall Street is looking for a profit of $1.28 per share from Facebook, with revenue expected to arrive at $9.88 billion. EarningsWhispers.com places the whisper number at $1.40 per share.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA)

Chinese internet giant Alibaba also joins the earnings fray this week. Analysts are expecting a profit of $1.04 per share on revenue of $7.78 billion. That said, expectations may be considerably higher, with EarningsWhispers.com placing the whisper number at $1.10 per share.

Options traders are heavily bullish on BABA stock’s potential. Volume on Friday came in at 217,000 contracts, with calls making up 74% of the day’s take. Overall, the Nov 3 put/call OI ratio has plunged to a near-term low of 0.44, with calls firmly in command.

Nov 3 implieds are pricing in a potential post-earnings move of about 5.4% for BABA stock. This places the upper bound at $186 while the lower bound rests at $166.

As I noted back in August, I am a firm Alibaba bull, and believe the stock still has considerable upside through 2018. The shares recent dip ahead of earnings is an excellent opportunity for BABA bulls looking to get in ahead of the next up-leg.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.