CSCO Stock: Unusual Options Flow Targets $80 Strike as Cisco Trades Near 52-Week Highs

By TrendSpider Editor

Cisco Systems is seeing a burst of unusual options activity across four contracts totaling $2,030,337 in combined premium, drawing attention to the networking giant as it trades at $79.96. The stock is up 1.27% on the session and sits near the upper end of its 52-week range of $52.11 to $88.185, ref

CSCO Stock: Unusual Options Flow Targets $80 Strike as Cisco Trades Near 52-Week Highs

Cisco Systems is seeing a burst of unusual options activity across four contracts totaling $2,030,337 in combined premium, drawing attention to the networking giant as it trades at $79.96. The stock is up 1.27% on the session and sits near the upper end of its 52-week range of $52.11 to $88.185, reflecting a strong recovery from its lows. The concentration of activity around the $80 strike and a notably large long-dated put suggest traders are positioning for a meaningful move in both directions.

Key Drivers of the CSCO Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Four unusual options contracts have been flagged on CSCO, with total premium across all trades reaching $2,030,337. The largest single contract by premium is a PUT at the $77.50 strike expiring January 21, 2028, with 1,500 contracts traded against an open interest ratio of 283%, signaling a significant institutional-scale position being opened. On the call side, an $80 strike contract expiring April 10, 2026 printed with an open interest ratio of 8,000%, indicating volume that dwarfs existing open interest by 80 times.
• Bull Case: Two call contracts at the $80 strike are seeing elevated activity, with a combined volume of 1,592 contracts. The April 10 call printed an OI ratio of 8,000%, an extreme reading that points to a concentrated new bet on upside through early April. With CSCO currently at $79.96, the $80 calls are effectively at the money, making these directional bets with relatively tight proximity to the current price.
• Bear Case: The single largest premium trade in the batch is a long-dated $77.50 put expiring January 2028, carrying $1,537,500 in premium alone, which accounts for over 75% of total flow. A 1,500-contract put position with an OI ratio of 283% and nearly two years until expiration suggests at least one large player is hedging or outright betting against CSCO over an extended timeframe. A near-term $77.50 put expiring March 20, 2026 also printed with 841 contracts, adding short-term downside positioning to the picture.

The forward setup for CSCO is mixed but tilted toward a pivotal few weeks. The stock is pressing the $80 level, which is now serving as both a psychological threshold and the strike price for active call positioning. If buyers can push CSCO through and hold that level, the next reference point becomes the 52-week high of $88.185. However, the outsized long-dated put premium is a reminder that not everyone is convinced the rally has legs. Cisco has been navigating a transition toward software and subscription-based revenue, and any guidance uncertainty or macro pressure on enterprise IT spending could weigh on the stock over the multi-year horizon that the January 2028 put is positioned for.

CSCO Unusual Options Activity

• CALL | Strike: $80 | Expiry: April 10, 2026 | Volume: 400 | Open Interest Ratio: 8,000% | Status: OTM
• CALL | Strike: $80 | Expiry: April 17, 2026 | Volume: 1,192 | Open Interest Ratio: 17% | Status: ATM
• PUT | Strike: $77.50 | Expiry: March 20, 2026 | Volume: 841 | Open Interest Ratio: 17% | Status: OTM
• PUT | Strike: $77.50 | Expiry: January 21, 2028 | Volume: 1,500 | Open Interest Ratio: 283% | Status: OTM

Total unusual contracts flagged: 4. Total premium across all contracts: $2,030,337.

CSCO Seasonality

March and April historically represent an active window for technology sector positioning as traders adjust ahead of fiscal year-end earnings cycles and spring portfolio rebalancing. The clustering of near-term call contracts expiring in April aligns with a period when options traders often make directional bets ahead of anticipated catalysts.

CSCO Relative Performance

CSCO is up 1.27% on the session at $79.96, trading roughly 53% above its 52-week low of $52.11 and approximately 9.3% below its 52-week high of $88.185. The stock's position near the top of its annual range indicates it has been among the stronger performers within large-cap technology over the past year, though it has not yet reclaimed its peak.