Note: The examples and setups featured in this article are not presented as precise entry or exit points, nor are they intended to suggest that anyone could have captured the exact bottom or top. Rather, they are meant to highlight the potential of the move based on the data we provide. Our focus is on identifying asymmetrical opportunities, where even capturing a portion of the move can be highly meaningful. As with George Soros’s famous short of the British pound, where the full potential was $3 billion, but only $1 billion was realized, the value lies in recognizing the setup, not perfection. Our institutional clients understand this well. They use our signals as a foundation and apply their own strategies to extract what fits their model. Success often comes from capturing the meat of the move, not chasing extremes.

Disclaimer: SetYourStop.com does not tell anyone what to buy or sell. We are a research company. The data we publish highlights signals of potential momentum or positioning that appear on our radar through daily monitoring of price action, volume, and institutional activity. These examples are meant to demonstrate how the data helps surface potential opportunities, not to suggest specific trades or outcomes. It is up to each individual to decide how they want to use the information. Our institutional clients value this work because we do the homework. They take the data, run it through their own models and strategies, and determine what fits. We present the research. What happens next is up to the end user.

How repeated bullish options activity and a developing ascending triangle placed Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) on the SYS Research radar before Friday’s breakout became the market’s story.

By Friday, August 21, Freeport-McMoRan had become one of the market’s most visible copper trades.

The stock broke above multi-month resistance, reached a new high of $77.33, and closed at $76.66 as financial media focused on copper’s strength, tightening supply conditions, and growing demand tied to AI infrastructure and electrification.

By then, the breakout required little interpretation.

Before the breakout, however, it required research.

Weeks earlier, repeated bullish options activity had begun appearing in FCX and the broader Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX). That positioning was followed by improving price structure, an ascending-triangle setup and, eventually, the breakout that placed copper miners at the center of the market’s attention.

The Positioning Appeared First

On Friday, July 17, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) appeared in the SYS Unusual Activity Report after buyers purchased calls at the $64 strike with seven days remaining until expiration. A total of $116,000 in premium was paid.

FCX closed that session at $58.38 as price rebounded from its 200-day moving average. The activity did not guarantee that a sustained advance would follow, but it established an early clue that bullish positioning was appearing as the stock attempted to recover from potential support.

From the SYS Unusual Activity Report: Friday, July 17, 2026

Bullish call activity began appearing as Freeport-McMoRan rebounded from its 200-day moving average, placing the stock on the SYS Research radar before the breakout developed.

Data From the SYS Unusual Activity Report

The positioning did not end with one transaction.

On July 20, two separate purchases of FCX $62 calls carried a combined premium of $207,000. Bullish activity also appeared in COPX, where buyers paid $158,000 for $74 calls.

Data From the SYS Unusual Activity Report

The simultaneous appearance of call buying in FCX and the broader copper-miners ETF strengthened the thematic evidence. This was no longer an isolated transaction in a single company. Positioning was beginning to appear across the group.

Data From the SYS Unusual Activity Report

On July 24, two additional purchases of FCX $66 calls carried a combined premium of $378,000. More activity subsequently appeared on July 27 and August 4, creating a repeated sequence rather than a single options-market event.

Data From the SYS Unusual Activity Report

The Technical Setup Moves Onto the Radar

On July 22, FCX appeared in the SYS US Daily Setups Report as price rebounded from potential support following the bullish options activity.

Chart from the SYS US Daily Setups Report: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

With bullish positioning already appearing in the options market, FCX was shared with clients as price rebounded from potential support and attempted to build upside momentum.

By August 7, the technical structure had become more defined. FCX was challenging resistance within a large ascending-triangle consolidation pattern while holding above its rising 13-day and 34-day moving averages. The PPO was also strengthening.

Chart from the SYS Weekend Report: Friday, August 7, 2026

Freeport-McMoRan was shown challenging resistance within a large ascending-triangle structure as its moving averages and momentum continued improving.

Positioning Intensifies Below Resistance

On August 20, one day before the breakout, another significant options transaction appeared.

Buyers paid approximately $3.31 million for FCX $80 calls with 120 days remaining until expiration. Unlike the earlier short-dated contracts, this transaction established longer-duration upside exposure while the stock remained positioned beneath resistance.

That activity was included in the same day’s SYS US Daily Setups Report, connecting the options positioning directly to the developing ascending-triangle structure.

From the SYS Unusual Activity Report: Thursday, August 20, 2026

With FCX still positioned below resistance, approximately $3.31 million in premium was paid for $80 calls with 120 days until expiration, adding another layer of bullish positioning immediately before the breakout.

Chart from the SYS US Daily Setups Report: Thursday, August 20, 2026

The stock was shared with clients below resistance as bullish positioning, rising moving averages, and positive momentum aligned ahead of a potential breakout.

The Breakout Becomes Obvious

On Friday, August 21, FCX broke above the multi-month resistance level that SYS Research had been charting, completing the ascending-triangle continuation pattern and reaching a new high of $77.33.

At that point, copper miners were no longer operating beneath the surface. The breakout was visible, the headlines had arrived, and the broader market was paying attention.

Follow-Up Chart: Friday, August 21, 2026

Freeport-McMoRan broke above the resistance level highlighted in prior client reports, confirming the ascending-triangle pattern as volume and momentum expanded.

Measuring the Move

Initial SYS Signal: July 17, 2026, at $58.38
High Through Friday: $77.33
Move From the Initial Signal: Approximately 32.5%

From the closing price recorded when bullish positioning first appeared in SYS Research to Friday’s high, Freeport-McMoRan advanced approximately 32.5%.

The significance is not simply the size of the move. It is the order in which the evidence appeared:

Options positioning. Sector confirmation. Improving structure. Repeated client coverage. Breakout. Headlines.

Someone Always Knows Something

Options activity does not predict the future, and no individual transaction should be treated as a guaranteed signal. Its value increases when activity repeats, appears across a broader theme, and begins aligning with constructive price action.

That is what made the FCX sequence notable.

SetYourStop did not wait for the breakout to explain why copper miners were moving. Our research identified the potential footprints of positioning, placed the developing setup on clients’ radar, and continued monitoring the stock as the evidence accumulated.

Everyone can explain a move after it reaches the headlines. The advantage is having the research in front of you while the evidence is still developing.

Someone always knows something.

If you want to see potential signals before everyone is talking about them, follow SetYourStop and subscribe to our daily research.

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