Intel Sees Bullish Unusual Options Activity as Calls Dominate With Over $1M in Total Premium
By TrendSpider Editor
Intel Corporation (INTC) is drawing attention in the options market today, with five unusual call contracts totaling more than $1.03 million in premium changing hands as the stock trades at $88.235, up 0.86% on the session. All five contracts flagged are calls, with zero puts in the mix, painting a
Intel Sees Bullish Unusual Options Activity as Calls Dominate With Over $1M in Total Premium
Intel Corporation (INTC) is drawing attention in the options market today, with five unusual call contracts totaling more than $1.03 million in premium changing hands as the stock trades at $88.235, up 0.86% on the session. All five contracts flagged are calls, with zero puts in the mix, painting a distinctly bullish picture from the options flow. With INTC trading well off its 52-week low of $23.68 but still far below its 52-week high of $142.34, options traders appear to be positioning for a continued push higher.
Key Drivers of the INTC Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Unusual options activity flagged five call contracts on INTC totaling $1,038,125.40 in premium, with no put activity detected. The largest single premium came from a $95 strike call expiring October 16, 2026, generating $370,217.30 in premium on 673 contracts.
- Bull Case: Every single contract in today's unusual flow is a call, and the mix includes both near-term and longer-dated strikes. Two in-the-money $87 calls expiring August 28, 2026 contributed a combined $238,100 in premium on 1,000 total contracts, suggesting traders are buying exposure they expect to monetize almost immediately.
- Bear Case: The $120 strike call expiring October 16, 2026, while bullish in direction, carries only 7% open interest and sits deep out of the money relative to the current price of $88.235, meaning it would require a rally of more than 36% in under two months to land in the money. Additionally, INTC remains roughly 38% below its 52-week high of $142.34, reflecting how far the stock has yet to recover.
The forward setup for INTC carries a constructive short-term tone based on today's options flow, but the stock faces a wide range of recovery it has yet to reclaim. The presence of both near-expiry in-the-money calls and October out-of-the-money calls suggests a layered positioning strategy, with some traders betting on immediate momentum and others giving the trade more room to develop. Intel has been navigating a challenging operational period, and any upcoming catalyst, whether product news, earnings commentary, or macro tailwinds for semiconductors, could serve as the trigger options traders appear to be anticipating.
INTC Unusual Options Activity
Five call contracts were flagged as unusual today with a combined premium of $1,038,125.40 and zero put contracts in the flow. Details for each contract are as follows:
- Call | Strike: $90 | Expiry: September 4, 2026 | Volume: 1,365 | OI%: 18% | Status: OTM | Premium: $335,790.00
- Call | Strike: $95 | Expiry: October 16, 2026 | Volume: 673 | OI%: 15% | Status: OTM | Premium: $370,217.30
- Call | Strike: $120 | Expiry: October 16, 2026 | Volume: 673 | OI%: 7% | Status: OTM | Premium: $94,018.10
- Call | Strike: $87 | Expiry: August 28, 2026 | Volume: 500 | OI%: 11% | Status: ITM | Premium: $117,600.00
- Call | Strike: $87 | Expiry: August 28, 2026 | Volume: 500 | OI%: 11% | Status: ITM | Premium: $120,500.00
The two ITM $87 calls expiring this Friday, August 28, 2026, command immediate attention given their short time horizon, while the OTM October calls suggest a subset of traders are willing to give the trade more time to play out through mid-fall.
INTC Seasonality
Late August and September have historically been mixed periods for semiconductor stocks, as the market begins to look ahead to fourth-quarter demand signals and inventory cycles. The concentration of near-term call activity expiring in early September suggests options traders may be expecting a near-term catalyst or continuation of the current upward drift before the quarter fully turns.
INTC Relative Performance
INTC is posting a gain of 0.86% today, trading at $88.235. The stock's 52-week range of $23.68 to $142.34 reflects an exceptionally wide band of volatility over the past year, and at the current price, INTC sits closer to the midpoint of that range than either extreme. The unusually skewed call-to-put ratio in today's options flow implies that, at least among institutional-scale options traders, INTC is being viewed more favorably than its recent historical price action might suggest on its own.
More on INTC
- Intel Options Traders Flag Downside Risk With $1M Put Contract as INTC Holds Near $88
- Intel Put Contracts Total $3.3M as Stock Slides to $90 on Unusual Options Activity
- Intel Stock Drops Nearly 8% Tuesday, Falling Toward the Lower End of Its 52-Week Range
- Intel Options Traders Bet Big With $2.85M in Call Premium as INTC Climbs to $103.81
- Intel Surges 5.66% in Tuesday Session, Closing In on 52-Week High Territory
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