Intel Puts Dominate as $2.5M in Bearish Options Flow Hits INTC on a Down Day

May 7, 2026

By TrendSpider Editor

Three put contracts were flagged as unusual Thursday, with no call contracts in the mix:

Intel Puts Dominate as $2.5M in Bearish Options Flow Hits INTC on a Down Day

Intel Corporation shares are sliding Thursday, dropping 2.97% to $109.65 as a cluster of unusual put activity totaling $2,509,311.80 in premium lands across three contracts. The bearish options flow arrives with INTC trading near the top of its 52-week range of $18.965 to $113.50, suggesting some traders are positioning for a pullback from elevated levels. All three contracts are puts, with zero calls recorded among the unusual activity flagged today.

Key Drivers of the INTC Stock Move

Main Catalyst: Three unusual put contracts hit the tape Thursday totaling $2,509,311.80 in combined premium, with strikes at $120, $108, and $105 and expirations ranging from May 2026 to December 2028. The largest single contract by premium is the $105 put expiring June 18, 2026, which generated $1,740,880 in premium on a size of 1,852 contracts.
Bull Case: INTC has surged dramatically from its 52-week low of $18.965 and is currently trading at $109.65, just 3.5% below the 52-week high of $113.50. The $120 put expiring December 2028 is in-the-money, which could reflect a hedging posture from a large long holder rather than an outright directional short bet.
Bear Case: The $105 put expiring June 18, 2026 carried a staggering open interest ratio of 126%, and the $108 put expiring May 8, 2026 expires tomorrow, suggesting traders are paying for very near-term downside protection or outright directional puts just below the current price. With the stock already off 2.97% today, momentum is moving in the bears' favor in the short term.

The forward setup for Intel is complex. The stock's extraordinary move from its 52-week low near $18.965 to current levels above $109 represents a multibagger recovery, but that kind of run often invites profit-taking and hedging activity at the top. The concentration of put premium in short-dated strikes clustered near and just below the current price of $109.65 implies that at least some market participants expect the stock to give back ground in the near term. Whether these contracts represent protective hedges by long holders or fresh directional bets against the stock, the options market is clearly not uniformly bullish at current levels.

INTC Unusual Options Activity

Three put contracts were flagged as unusual Thursday, with no call contracts in the mix:

Put, $120 Strike, Expiry December 15, 2028: Size of 119 contracts, open interest ratio of 1,000% (in-the-money), premium of $563,584.
Put, $108 Strike, Expiry May 8, 2026: Size of 1,338 contracts, open interest ratio of 51% (out-of-the-money), premium of $204,847.80. This contract expires tomorrow.
Put, $105 Strike, Expiry June 18, 2026: Size of 1,852 contracts, open interest ratio of 126% (out-of-the-money), premium of $1,740,880. This is the dominant contract by both size and premium.

The total premium across all three unusual contracts is $2,509,311.80, with a net directional lean that is entirely bearish given the exclusive presence of puts and zero calls in the unusual flow.

INTC Seasonality

May and June have historically been a mixed period for semiconductor stocks, as the sector tends to front-run earnings expectations and macro data during this stretch. With one of these puts expiring as soon as tomorrow and another in June, the traders behind these contracts are clearly focused on near-term catalysts rather than longer-term seasonal trends.

INTC Relative Performance

Intel's 2.97% decline on Thursday puts it under pressure relative to the broader semiconductor sector on the day. With the stock sitting at $109.65 against a 52-week low of $18.965, INTC has been one of the more dramatic recovery stories in the chip space over the past year, but today's move lower and the associated put activity suggest the stock may be encountering resistance as it approaches its 52-week high of $113.50.