Intel Options Traders Pile Into $115 Puts With Over $5.4M in Bearish Premium

By TrendSpider Editor

Intel Corporation saw a significant cluster of unusual options activity Tuesday, with traders deploying over $5.5 million in total premium across three flagged contracts, two of which were in-the-money put positions targeting the $115 strike. INTC shares are trading at $114.00, down 1.88% on the ses

Intel Options Traders Pile Into $115 Puts With Over $5.4M in Bearish Premium

Intel Corporation saw a significant cluster of unusual options activity Tuesday, with traders deploying over $5.5 million in total premium across three flagged contracts, two of which were in-the-money put positions targeting the $115 strike. INTC shares are trading at $114.00, down 1.88% on the session, and while the stock has recovered sharply from its 52-week low of $32.89, it remains well below its 52-week high of $142.34, leaving the technical picture mixed heading into the back half of the year. The options flow suggests at least some large traders are positioning for continued near-term weakness or hedging existing long exposure.

Key Drivers of the INTC Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Three unusual options contracts were flagged Tuesday totaling $5,522,650 in combined premium. The dominant trades were two large put positions at the $115 strike, one expiring December 18, 2026 (2,250 contracts, $2,756,250 in premium) and one expiring January 15, 2027 (1,980 contracts, $2,732,400 in premium). Both puts are currently in the money with INTC at $114.00.
• Bull Case: A single call contract at the $116 strike expiring October 7, 2026 was also flagged, representing a short-dated, out-of-the-money bet that Intel could recover above $116 within 24 hours. The stock's recovery from its 52-week low of $32.89 to current levels near $114 demonstrates meaningful underlying momentum on the longer-term chart.
• Bear Case: The overwhelming weight of unusual premium is skewed toward puts. The two bearish contracts combined account for $5,488,650 of the $5,522,650 total, representing roughly 99% of flagged activity. Both puts are in the money at current price, indicating traders are not speculating on a breakdown but rather paying up to protect against or profit from further downside near current levels.

The forward setup for Intel is complicated by its position in a highly competitive semiconductor landscape. With shares sitting just below the $115 put strikes and down nearly 1.88% Tuesday, any additional selling pressure could validate the bearish thesis embedded in the December and January contracts. The December expiry gives traders about 10 weeks of runway, while the January position extends coverage into early 2027, suggesting at least one large participant sees near-term risk extending beyond the current quarter. Intel has been navigating a prolonged turnaround effort, and any updates on manufacturing progress, product competitiveness, or macroeconomic headwinds in the months ahead could be key catalysts for how these trades ultimately play out.

INTC Unusual Options Activity

Three contracts were flagged as unusual Tuesday, totaling $5,522,650 in combined premium across a mix of bullish and heavily bearish positioning:

• Call, $116 strike, expires October 7, 2026 | Volume: 500 | Open Interest: 63% | Status: Out of the Money | Premium: $34,000
• Put, $115 strike, expires December 18, 2026 | Volume: 2,250 | Open Interest: 45% | Status: In the Money | Premium: $2,756,250
• Put, $115 strike, expires January 15, 2027 | Volume: 1,980 | Open Interest: 20% | Status: In the Money | Premium: $2,732,400

The two put positions dominate the flow and share the same $115 strike, pointing to a coordinated or conviction-driven bearish thesis spanning the December 2026 through January 2027 window. The relatively low open interest percentage on the January contract (20%) suggests this position may be freshly opened rather than added to an existing block.

INTC Seasonality

The fourth quarter has historically been a mixed period for semiconductor stocks, with demand signals from the PC and data center markets often coming into clearer focus in October and November. Given that the two dominant put contracts extend into December 2026 and January 2027, traders may be positioning ahead of Intel's next earnings cycle and any year-end guidance updates.

INTC Relative Performance

INTC is down 1.88% Tuesday to $114.00. While the stock has staged a significant recovery from its 52-week low of $32.89, it remains approximately 19.9% below its 52-week high of $142.34, meaning it has underperformed its own recent peak by a wide margin. The current price action, combined with the weight of bearish options premium, suggests Intel continues to lag the broader semiconductor sector's recovery narrative even as it trades well off its lows.