Intel Corporation closed at 97.52 USD, down 4.06% from the previous close.
Despite the daily decline, an unusual surge in options activity painted a more constructive picture, as a colossal $1.64 million out-of-the-money put sale signaled strong bullish conviction. This massive premium collection dominated the tape, effectively overshadowing a simultaneous $1.67 million long-dated protective put purchase, and tilted the overall large-trade sentiment firmly toward the bullish camp.
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Options Indicators
INTC’s implied volatility is 73.18%, while its IV percentile stands at 60.16%, which places current volatility conditions in a neutral range rather than an extreme one. In other words, although the absolute IV level is fairly high, relative to its own recent history INTC’s options are not especially cheap or especially expensive at the moment. With the IV/HV ratio at 0.88, implied volatility is also running below historical volatility, suggesting the market’s forward volatility pricing is somewhat restrained versus what the stock has recently realized. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.27.
Large Trades
A bearish put purchase worth $1.67 million was the largest displayed trade, with buyers taking 24,175 contracts of the September 18, 2026 $67.50 put. With INTC referenced at $97.52, this strike is out of the money, making it a downside hedge or a directional bearish bet that only becomes valuable on a meaningful decline. The size and long-dated tenor suggest the buyer was willing to pay substantial premium for protection or for leveraged exposure to a deeper selloff over time.
A bullish put sale worth $1.64 million was the other highlighted trade, with sellers writing 2,610 contracts of the June 17, 2027 $60.00 put. This strike is also out of the money versus the $97.52 reference price, so the trade reflects a willingness to own risk well below the current market while collecting premium upfront. Strategically, this is a moderately bullish income-style position, expressing confidence that INTC will remain above that level or at least not fall far enough to threaten the short strike by expiration.
Overall, large-trade sentiment leaned bullish, with total bullish flow at $5.21 million versus $2.14 million bearish, leaving a net difference of $3.07 million in favor of the bulls. The directional conclusion is therefore bullish: despite the presence of a sizable long-dated protective or speculative put purchase, the broader large-trade tape was dominated by premium-selling activity in out-of-the-money puts and additional upside-oriented call buying, which together point to investors being more comfortable harvesting premium and positioning for stability to strength rather than preparing for a major breakdown.
Strategy Reference
For traders sharing the bullish but cautious outlook, selling the June 2027 $60.00 put echoes the smart money’s conviction, though a more conservative alternative could be a bull put spread, such as selling the $60.00 put and buying the $55.00 put, to strictly define risk and reduce margin requirements.
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