Cisco Stock Sees Unusual Options Activity as a $840K December Put Dominates Flow

By TrendSpider Editor

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is attracting attention in the options market today, with a dominant $840,000 put contract at the $110 strike driving $1,040,974 in total unusual premium across five contracts. Shares are trading at $121.48, up 1.62% on the session, though that intraday strength contrasts sharpl

Cisco Stock Sees Unusual Options Activity as a $840K December Put Dominates Flow

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is attracting attention in the options market today, with a dominant $840,000 put contract at the $110 strike driving $1,040,974 in total unusual premium across five contracts. Shares are trading at $121.48, up 1.62% on the session, though that intraday strength contrasts sharply with the bearish posture embedded in the largest single contract flagged today. CSCO has traded between $64.85 and $130.3656 over the past 52 weeks, placing current prices near the upper end of that range, which may be precisely what one large options trader is positioning against.

Key Drivers of the CSCO Stock Move

The forward setup for CSCO is nuanced. The stock sits near the top of its 52-week range of $64.85 to $130.3656, which naturally invites mean-reversion thinking from institutional traders. The December put at $110 could reflect hedging activity from a holder of CSCO shares looking to protect gains accumulated over the past year, or it could be an outright directional bet on a pullback. The near-term call activity, meanwhile, suggests some traders expect the stock to maintain its elevated price through mid-July. With CSCO having made a significant run from its 52-week low, both the bull and bear cases in today's flow reflect a market genuinely divided on whether this level is sustainable heading into the second half of 2026.

CSCO Unusual Options Activity

Five contracts were flagged as unusual today, combining for $1,040,974 in total premium:

The put-to-call split by premium is heavily skewed: the single December put accounts for approximately 80.7% of total unusual premium, while the four aggregated July calls represent the remaining 19.3%. The open interest readings on the July calls, ranging from 206% to 588%, indicate that volume is running well above existing open interest in those series, reinforcing the unusual nature of the near-term call accumulation as well.

CSCO Seasonality

Late June and early July have historically been a transitional period for technology names, as traders position ahead of summer earnings season and sector rotation tends to pick up. The cluster of July 10 calls expiring in under three weeks suggests some participants are making short-duration directional bets rather than waiting for Cisco's next major catalyst.

CSCO Relative Performance

CSCO gained 1.62% today, reaching $121.48. With the stock trading near the upper portion of its 52-week range of $64.85 to $130.3656, Cisco is demonstrating relative strength on the session. The proximity to the 52-week high of $130.3656 makes current levels a potential area of technical resistance, which adds further context to why a large options participant may be establishing downside protection through December 2026.

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