Cisco Systems Sees Bearish Options Activity as Two Notable Put Contracts Surface Near All-Time Highs

By TrendSpider Editor

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is drawing attention in the options market today, with two put contracts totaling $1,313,970.60 in combined premium flagged as unusual activity. Shares are trading at $110.125, up a modest 0.18% on the session, but the bearish options positioning suggests some traders may be hed

Cisco Systems Sees Bearish Options Activity as Two Notable Put Contracts Surface Near All-Time Highs

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is drawing attention in the options market today, with two put contracts totaling $1,313,970.60 in combined premium flagged as unusual activity. Shares are trading at $110.125, up a modest 0.18% on the session, but the bearish options positioning suggests some traders may be hedging or betting against further upside. The stock has had a strong run within its 52-week range of $66.13 to $130.37, meaning it currently sits closer to the upper half of that range, which may be inviting some caution from options traders.

Key Drivers of the CSCO Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Two put contracts were flagged as unusual today, carrying a combined premium of $1,313,970.60. The larger of the two is a PUT at the $100 strike expiring March 19, 2027, with a size of 2,000 contracts and an open interest ratio of 26%, suggesting this position is largely new. The smaller contract is a PUT at the $109 strike expiring September 4, 2026, with a size of 586 contracts and an open interest ratio of 48%.
• Bull Case: Both contracts are out of the money, with the $109 strike just below the current price of $110.125 and the $100 strike roughly 9% below current levels. This means these could be protective puts or hedges rather than outright directional bets, and with shares up 0.18% today, the stock is showing near-term resilience.
• Bear Case: The dominant position, a 2,000-contract put block at the $100 strike with $1,260,000 in premium and only 26% open interest, signals a largely fresh and sizable bearish wager. The March 2027 expiration gives this trade a seven-month window for Cisco to decline more than 9% from current levels, and the scale of the premium suggests this is not a retail-level hedge.

The forward setup for Cisco is worth watching carefully. The stock has recovered substantially from its 52-week low of $66.13, and the longer-dated put at the $100 strike may reflect concern that recent gains are vulnerable to a pullback over the coming months. The near-term put expiring September 4, 2026, just four days away, carries much smaller premium but adds to the overall bearish tone of today's unusual flow. Traders will want to monitor whether additional put activity accumulates in the sessions ahead, particularly around key technical levels as the stock navigates the upper half of its annual range.

CSCO Unusual Options Activity

Two put contracts were flagged as unusual in today's session:

• Contract 1: PUT, $109 strike, expiring September 4, 2026. Volume: 586 contracts. Open interest ratio: 48%. This contract is out of the money.
• Contract 2: PUT, $100 strike, expiring March 19, 2027. Volume: 2,000 contracts. Open interest ratio: 26%. This contract is out of the money and represents the bulk of today's unusual premium at $1,260,000.

Total premium across both contracts reached $1,313,970.60, with zero call contracts flagged. The complete absence of bullish call flow alongside two bearish put positions reinforces the directional lean of today's unusual activity.

CSCO Seasonality

Late August and early September can bring increased volatility for large-cap technology names as institutional investors rebalance portfolios heading into the final stretch of the calendar year. The near-term put expiring on September 4 fits squarely into this seasonal window, where short-dated hedges around the Labor Day period are not uncommon.

CSCO Relative Performance

Cisco is up 0.18% today, a muted move that places it roughly in line with the kind of low-volatility drift seen across large-cap tech on quiet sessions. With the stock at $110.125 and sitting well above its 52-week low of $66.13, Cisco has outperformed its own prior range substantially, though it remains below its 52-week high of $130.37, leaving roughly 18% of upside before retesting that peak. The options market, however, appears to be pricing in some downside risk over both the very near term and into the first quarter of 2027.