Intel closed at USD 99.81, down 1.24%. The session’s large options activity leaned slightly bullish, anchored by a USD 5.64 million put spread that collected a substantial net credit and a USD 4.08 million long-dated call buy aiming for a rally beyond USD 130.00 by 2027.
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Options Indicators
INTC’s implied volatility is 81.01%, and with an IV percentile of 74.50%, current option volatility sits in an elevated zone relative to its own recent history, indicating that options are priced expensively rather than cheaply. The IV/HV ratio of 0.94 suggests implied volatility is roughly in line with, and slightly below, realized volatility, so while premium levels are rich on a historical percentile basis, they are not dramatically overstated versus actual stock movement. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.78.
Large Trades
A bullish put spread worth USD 5.64 million was the largest displayed trade, built by selling 3,000 September 18, 2026 USD 110.00 puts and buying 3,000 September 18, 2026 USD 75.00 puts. With USD 5.06 million collected on the short put leg and USD 0.58 million paid for the long put hedge, the strategy brought in a net credit of USD 4.47 million. Given the reference stock price of USD 99.81, the short USD 110.00 put was in the money while the long USD 75.00 put was out of the money. This is a classic income-generating bullish structure that expresses confidence INTC can hold above the upper strike over time, while the purchased lower-strike put caps downside risk and defines the spread’s worst-case loss.
A call buy worth USD 4.08 million targeted the January 15, 2027 USD 130.00 strike, with 3,100 contracts purchased outright. The strike sits out of the money versus the USD 99.81 reference stock price, making this a clear upside directional bet on a substantial longer-dated advance in INTC. Because it is a single-leg long call, the trade reflects premium paid for convex upside exposure, suggesting the buyer wants leveraged participation in a rally while limiting maximum risk to the premium spent.
Overall sentiment in INTC large trades is slightly bullish. The flow shows bullish activity narrowly outweighing bearish activity, and the character of the top trades reinforces that bias: the biggest transaction was a bullish put spread that monetizes a constructive view while defining risk, and the second-largest was a long-dated out-of-the-money call purchase aimed at upside participation. Even though there was meaningful bearish put-spread and put-buying activity elsewhere in the tape, the aggregate large-trade profile leans toward cautious optimism rather than aggressive bearish positioning.
Strategy Reference
For a premium-selling approach given elevated IV, a trader with a neutral-to-bullish outlook could consider selling an out-of-the-money put, such as the September 2026 USD 75.00 strike, to target a low assignment probability while reducing the margin requirement versus a naked put through a defined-risk spread.
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