Texas Instruments Sees $1.99M in Unusual Put Activity as Stock Nears 52-Week High
By TrendSpider Editor
Two unusual put contracts totaling $1,990,725 in premium hit the tape for Texas Instruments Incorporated on Wednesday, signaling notable bearish positioning as the stock trades at $268.50, up 1.32% on the session. The larger of the two contracts, a $260 put expiring June 18, 2026, drew 2,000 contrac
Texas Instruments Sees $1.99M in Unusual Put Activity as Stock Nears 52-Week High
Two unusual put contracts totaling $1,990,725 in premium hit the tape for Texas Instruments Incorporated on Wednesday, signaling notable bearish positioning as the stock trades at $268.50, up 1.32% on the session. The larger of the two contracts, a $260 put expiring June 18, 2026, drew 2,000 contracts against open interest of just 851% of its prior baseline, suggesting fresh, aggressive money entering the position. With TXN sitting well above its 52-week low of $152.76 but still below its 52-week high of $287.83, the options flow lands at a technically significant stretch in the stock's recent range.
Key Drivers of the TXN Stock Move
- Main Catalyst: Two put contracts with a combined premium of $1,990,725 were flagged as unusual. The headline trade is a PUT at the $260 strike expiring June 18, 2026, with a size of 2,000 contracts and an open interest ratio of 851%. A second PUT at the $280 strike expiring June 17, 2027, carried a size of just 9 contracts but an open interest ratio of 1,000%, indicating a massive surge relative to prior positioning.
- Bull Case: The $260 put is currently out of the money with TXN trading at $268.50, meaning the stock would need to decline before those contracts pay off at expiration. The 1.32% intraday gain suggests near-term buying pressure remains intact, and the stock is within roughly 7% of its 52-week high of $287.83, reflecting broader underlying strength.
- Bear Case: The sheer premium commitment of $1,950,000 on the June 2026 $260 put alone reflects a serious directional bet to the downside. The $280 strike put expiring June 2027 is in the money relative to that strike, adding a longer-duration bearish overlay. Together, the two contracts suggest at least some institutional participants expect TXN to face downside pressure over the coming weeks to months.
The forward setup for TXN is nuanced. The stock has staged a significant recovery from its 52-week low of $152.76, and at $268.50 it has nearly doubled off that trough. However, the concentration of put premium at the $260 level, just below current prices, suggests traders may be hedging or outright betting against the stock holding these levels through mid-June 2026. Texas Instruments operates in the semiconductor space, where inventory cycles, industrial demand trends, and interest rate sensitivity have all weighed on sentiment at various points over the past year. Any softness in those macro or sector-specific drivers could give these puts traction heading into expiration.
TXN Unusual Options Activity
Two contracts were flagged for unusual activity on April 29, 2026:
- Contract 1: PUT, $260 strike, expiring June 18, 2026 | Volume: 2,000 | Open Interest Ratio: 851% | Out of the Money | Premium: $1,950,000
- Contract 2: PUT, $280 strike, expiring June 17, 2027 | Volume: 9 | Open Interest Ratio: 1,000% | In the Money | Premium: $40,725
Both contracts are puts, with zero calls flagged, making the total unusual flow unambiguously one-directional. The combined unusual premium of $1,990,725 skews entirely bearish, with the dominant position targeting the $260 level before June 18, 2026, just seven weeks out.
TXN Seasonality
Late April and May have historically represented a transitional period for semiconductor stocks as first-quarter earnings results filter through and forward guidance resets investor expectations. A put position expiring in mid-June 2026 would capture this post-earnings recalibration window, which has at times produced elevated volatility for TXN.
TXN Relative Performance
TXN's 1.32% gain on Wednesday places it in positive territory on the session. Trading at $268.50, the stock sits substantially above its 52-week low of $152.76 and within approximately 7% of its 52-week high of $287.83, indicating it has been one of the stronger performers within its own historical range, even as the unusual options flow suggests some participants are positioning for a near-term pullback from these elevated levels.