Intel Options Traders Bet Big on Downside With $2.4M Put Position Below Current Price

By TrendSpider Editor

A single $2,414,000 put contract on Intel Corporation has drawn attention Tuesday, signaling that at least one large options trader is positioning for notable downside in INTC shares. Intel currently trades at $97.23, and the put in question carries a $75 strike, placing it well out of the money at

Intel Options Traders Bet Big on Downside With $2.4M Put Position Below Current Price

A single $2,414,000 put contract on Intel Corporation has drawn attention Tuesday, signaling that at least one large options trader is positioning for notable downside in INTC shares. Intel currently trades at $97.23, and the put in question carries a $75 strike, placing it well out of the money at roughly 23% below the current price. That bearish bet arrives as INTC sits inside a dramatic 52-week range of $24.22 to $142.34, reflecting the extreme volatility the chipmaker has experienced over the past year.

Key Drivers of the INTC Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: One unusual put contract was flagged today on INTC, with a $75 strike expiring December 17, 2027. The single contract carried a total premium of $2,414,000 and printed at 200% of open interest, a signal that this is fresh positioning rather than a hedge on an existing long options exposure.
• Bull Case: At $97.23, INTC has recovered substantially from its 52-week low of $24.22, more than tripling off that floor. The $75 put is deeply out of the money, meaning the stock would need to decline more than 22% from current levels before this position moves into profitable territory at expiration in December 2027.
• Bear Case: The sheer size of the premium, $2,414,000 committed to a single bearish contract, suggests conviction behind the trade. With more than 15 months until expiration, the trader appears to be constructing a long-duration bearish thesis, implying they believe meaningful downward pressure on INTC could materialize well into late 2027. The 52-week high of $142.34 also underscores how far the stock has already fallen from its peak.

The forward setup for Intel remains complicated. The stock's position in the middle of its 52-week range, between a low of $24.22 and a high of $142.34, leaves plenty of room to move in either direction, and today's options activity suggests institutional or well-capitalized traders are not ruling out another leg lower. Intel has been navigating a prolonged period of competitive pressure in both the PC processor and data center chip markets, facing headwinds from AMD and continued dominance by NVIDIA in AI-related workloads. The December 2027 expiration on this put gives the trade an unusually long runway, which could indicate the trader expects any negative catalyst, whether related to earnings, manufacturing execution, or market share losses, to play out gradually rather than immediately. Today's price move of just +0.04% suggests the broader market is not reacting dramatically to the flow, but the size and structure of this contract warrants close monitoring.

INTC Unusual Options Activity

One unusual options contract was flagged for Intel on Tuesday, September 15, 2026:

• Type: Put | Strike: $75 | Expiry: December 17, 2027 | Size: 2,000 contracts | Open Interest: 200% (new positioning above existing open interest) | Total Premium: $2,414,000 | Moneyness: Out of the money

The 200% open interest reading is a key detail here. When a trade prints at double the existing open interest, it confirms that this is not a closing trade or a straightforward hedge against existing contracts. Instead, it represents a fresh directional bet by a trader committing over $2.4 million in premium to the idea that INTC could trade at or below $75 before December 2027.

INTC Seasonality

September has historically been a mixed month for semiconductor stocks, with the broader sector often facing pressure as institutional investors rebalance portfolios heading into the final quarter. A long-dated December 2027 put captures multiple earnings cycles and seasonal windows, giving the bearish thesis exposure to Intel's performance across the critical holiday PC demand season and the following year's enterprise refresh cycle.

INTC Relative Performance

Intel's current price of $97.23 reflects a stock that has rebounded sharply from its 52-week low of $24.22 but remains far below its 52-week high of $142.34. That gap of more than $45 from the top of its annual range highlights that INTC has underperformed relative to the broader semiconductor space, where peers like NVIDIA established new highs during the same period. The +0.04% move today is effectively flat, suggesting Intel is treading water while the options market quietly builds a case for a potential move lower.