Cisco Systems Sees Unusual Call Activity Surge as Stock Hovers Near $110
By TrendSpider Editor
Cisco Systems (CSCO) is attracting notable options market attention on Friday, with five unusual contracts totaling $1,199,713 in combined premium as shares trade at $109.50, down 0.67% on the session. The largest single contract, a January 2027 call at the $97.50 strike, alone accounts for $881,320
Cisco Systems Sees Unusual Call Activity Surge as Stock Hovers Near $110
Cisco Systems (CSCO) is attracting notable options market attention on Friday, with five unusual contracts totaling $1,199,713 in combined premium as shares trade at $109.50, down 0.67% on the session. The largest single contract, a January 2027 call at the $97.50 strike, alone accounts for $881,320 of that total premium, suggesting at least one large participant is positioning for continued upside over the next several months. With CSCO trading well above its 52-week low of $66.35 but still below its 52-week high of $130.37, the stock sits at a technically meaningful level where options traders appear to be making directional bets.
Key Drivers of the CSCO Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Five unusual options contracts have hit the tape today, skewed heavily toward calls. The dominant trade is a 563-contract call block at the $97.50 strike expiring January 15, 2027, carrying $881,320 in premium and currently in-the-money. A second notable call at the $110 strike expiring October 16 brought in 500 contracts and $145,000 in premium, sitting just out of the money relative to the current price of $109.50.
- Bull Case: Three of the five unusual contracts are calls, and the in-the-money January 2027 call at $97.50 with 563 contracts and $881,320 in premium is the clearest expression of bullish conviction. The near-term $109 call expiring September 25 with 596 contracts and an open interest percentage of 164% suggests fresh positioning above existing open interest, a classic signal of new money entering the trade.
- Bear Case: One put contract stands out: a $101 strike put expiring October 23, with 349 contracts, $38,424.90 in premium, and a striking open interest ratio of 1,517%, indicating this position dwarfs existing open interest at that strike. While smaller in premium terms, the extreme OI percentage signals a highly concentrated and deliberate bet on downside below $101 over the next five weeks.
The forward setup for CSCO is nuanced. The stock has recovered substantially from its 52-week low of $66.35, more than doubling at its yearly peak of $130.37, though it remains roughly 16% off that high. The clustering of options activity around the $97.50 to $110 range suggests the market is debating whether the current price level holds as support or acts as resistance. The January 2027 in-the-money call is the most structurally significant trade of the session, pointing to at least one institutional-scale participant expecting CSCO to maintain or extend gains over the next four months. The presence of the high-OI-ratio put, however, introduces a counterpoint that should not be dismissed heading into the final week of September.
CSCO Unusual Options Activity
- Contract 1: Call | Strike: $100 | Expiry: October 30, 2026 | Size: 40 contracts | Open Interest Change: 1,000% | Status: In-the-Money | Premium: $40,800
- Contract 2: Put | Strike: $101 | Expiry: October 23, 2026 | Size: 349 contracts | Open Interest Change: 1,517% | Status: Out-of-the-Money | Premium: $38,424.90
- Contract 3: Call | Strike: $110 | Expiry: October 16, 2026 | Size: 500 contracts | Open Interest Change: 13% | Status: Out-of-the-Money | Premium: $145,000
- Contract 4: Call | Strike: $97.50 | Expiry: January 15, 2027 | Size: 563 contracts | Open Interest Change: 46% | Status: In-the-Money | Premium: $881,320.20
- Contract 5: Call | Strike: $109 | Expiry: September 25, 2026 | Size: 596 contracts | Open Interest Change: 164% | Status: At-the-Money | Premium: $94,168
CSCO Seasonality
September has historically been a volatile month for large-cap technology names, with sector-wide repositioning common heading into the final quarter of the year. Options activity of this nature in the back half of September can reflect both hedging ahead of the Q4 setup and directional positioning ahead of fiscal year-end portfolio rebalancing.
CSCO Relative Performance
CSCO's 0.67% decline on Friday is a modest pullback in the context of its broader recovery from the 52-week low of $66.35. Trading at $109.50, the stock remains in the upper half of its 52-week range of $66.35 to $130.37, reflecting relative resilience compared to the more extreme volatility seen in other large-cap technology names this year.
More on CSCO
- Two Cisco Insiders Unload Shares as CSCO Trades Near 52-Week Highs
- Cisco Systems Sees $2.4M in Unusual Call Activity as Stock Pulls Back to $107.96
- Cisco Systems Sees $3.1M in Unusual Options Activity as a Massive $140 Call Bet Dominates Flow
- Cisco Systems Sees Bearish Options Activity as Two Notable Put Contracts Surface Near All-Time Highs
- Cisco Systems Crushes Q4 2026 Estimates With EPS Beat of Nearly 8%, Revenue Tops $17.2 Billion
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