CSCO Stock: Unusual Options Activity Flags Bullish Positioning as Cisco Trades Near 52-Week Highs
By TrendSpider Editor
Cisco Systems is drawing attention in the options market today, with two unusual contracts totaling $2,013,691.20 in combined premium flagged on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The dominant trade is a large call sweep targeting an $85 strike into January 2027, suggesting at least some institutional parti
CSCO Stock: Unusual Options Activity Flags Bullish Positioning as Cisco Trades Near 52-Week Highs
Cisco Systems is drawing attention in the options market today, with two unusual contracts totaling $2,013,691.20 in combined premium flagged on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The dominant trade is a large call sweep targeting an $85 strike into January 2027, suggesting at least some institutional participants are positioning for continued upside. With CSCO currently trading at $79.16, down just 0.14% on the session, the stock sits in the upper half of its 52-week range of $52.11 to $88.185, indicating the broader trend remains intact heading into this activity.
Key Drivers of the CSCO Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Two unusual options contracts were flagged today carrying a total premium of $2,013,691.20. The headline trade is a call contract at the $85 strike expiring January 15, 2027, with a size of 3,000 contracts and open interest utilization of 53%. A smaller put contract at the $75 strike expiring April 17, 2026 with a size of 672 contracts and open interest utilization of 19% rounds out the activity.
- Bull Case: The $85 call expiring in January 2027 carries $1,935,000 in premium, representing the overwhelming majority of today's total unusual options spend. At a size of 3,000 contracts with 53% open interest, this trade reflects a meaningful directional bet that CSCO can push roughly 7.4% above current levels before expiration roughly ten months from now.
- Bear Case: The $75 put expiring April 17, 2026 adds a cautionary note. Though smaller at $78,691.20 in premium and 672 contracts, it signals that some traders are hedging against a pullback toward $75 within the next month, a level approximately 5.2% below the current price. With the stock still about 10% below its 52-week high of $88.185, a near-term rejection at resistance could validate that defensive positioning.
The forward setup for CSCO looks constructive on balance. The stock has recovered substantially from its 52-week low of $52.11, and today's lopsided call premium relative to put premium suggests the options market is leaning bullish on a longer time horizon. The near-term put activity does introduce some caution around the April expiration window, which traders should monitor closely as the stock attempts to close the gap toward its 52-week high of $88.185. The combination of resilient price action and aggressive upside positioning in options points to a stock where institutional sentiment appears tilted in favor of the bulls, even as the session-level price move is essentially flat.
CSCO Unusual Options Activity
Two unusual options contracts were identified in today's session:
- Contract 1: Put | Strike: $75 | Expiry: April 17, 2026 | Volume: 672 | Open Interest Utilization: 19% | Out of the Money | Premium: $78,691.20
- Contract 2: Call | Strike: $85 | Expiry: January 15, 2027 | Volume: 3,000 | Open Interest Utilization: 53% | Out of the Money | Premium: $1,935,000
Total unusual premium across both contracts came in at $2,013,691.20, with calls accounting for approximately 96% of that figure. The heavy skew toward the January 2027 call reflects a longer-dated, high-conviction posture rather than short-term speculation.
CSCO Seasonality
Mid-March through April has historically represented a transitional period for technology hardware names like Cisco, as investors position ahead of spring earnings cycles and reassess networking infrastructure spending outlooks. The presence of both a short-dated April put and a long-dated January call in today's unusual activity aligns with that seasonal dynamic, where near-term uncertainty coexists with longer-term optimism.
CSCO Relative Performance
CSCO is down 0.14% on the session, a negligible move that suggests the stock is holding up well relative to any broader market noise on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Trading at $79.16, Cisco sits roughly 52% above its 52-week low of $52.11 and approximately 10% below its 52-week high of $88.185, placing it in a technically strong position within its annual range and outperforming many legacy technology peers that have struggled to reclaim prior highs.