Texas Instruments Sees $1M Unusual Call Sweep as Stock Climbs Near Mid-Range

By TrendSpider Editor

Texas Instruments is drawing attention from options traders today, with a notable $1,005,150 call contract sweeping through the market targeting a $260 strike expiring September 18, 2026. TXN shares are trading at $256.36, up 1.19% on the session, sitting roughly in the middle of its 52-week range o

Texas Instruments Sees $1M Unusual Call Sweep as Stock Climbs Near Mid-Range

Texas Instruments is drawing attention from options traders today, with a notable $1,005,150 call contract sweeping through the market targeting a $260 strike expiring September 18, 2026. TXN shares are trading at $256.36, up 1.19% on the session, sitting roughly in the middle of its 52-week range of $152.76 to $334.03. A second unusual put contract also surfaced, though the dominant signal from today's unusual options activity skews bullish in the near term.

Key Drivers of the TXN Stock Move

• Main Catalyst: Two unusual options contracts flagged today totaling $1,202,350 in combined premium. The lead contract is a call at the $260 strike expiring September 18, 2026, with a volume of 1,500 contracts and open interest utilization of 221% above existing OI, signaling aggressive new positioning. A secondary put at the $185 strike expiring September 17, 2027 showed 170 contracts with a striking 3,400% OI ratio, suggesting a smaller but highly concentrated bearish long-dated bet.
• Bull Case: The $260 call, carrying $1,005,150 in premium, is only slightly out of the money relative to the current price of $256.36 and expires in just over two weeks. The 221% OI ratio indicates substantial new money entering the trade, and a move of less than 1.5% would bring the contract into the money. With today's 1.19% gain already in motion, momentum is aligned with the bullish contract.
• Bear Case: The long-dated $185 put expiring September 17, 2027 represents a deep out-of-the-money bearish position, roughly 27.8% below the current price. Its 3,400% OI ratio is extreme and suggests someone is making a concentrated, if speculative, bet on a significant downside scenario over the next year. With TXN already well above its 52-week low of $152.76, a breakdown of that magnitude would represent a major structural deterioration.

The near-term setup for TXN is shaped by the tension between a short-dated bullish call sweep and a deeply positioned long-dated put. The call flow into the September 18 expiration suggests traders are positioning for a quick move higher, potentially ahead of a catalyst. At $256.36, the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $334.03, leaving considerable room to recover if momentum continues. The unusual options positioning across two very different time horizons may reflect bifurcated views on TXN's near-term momentum versus its longer-term fundamental trajectory in the semiconductor cycle.

TXN Unusual Options Activity

• Contract 1: Call | Strike: $260 | Expiry: September 18, 2026 | Volume: 1,500 | Open Interest Utilization: 221% | Out of the Money | Premium: $1,005,150
• Contract 2: Put | Strike: $185 | Expiry: September 17, 2027 | Volume: 170 | Open Interest Utilization: 3,400% | Out of the Money | Premium: $197,200

Total unusual premium across both contracts: $1,202,350. The call contract dominates by dollar volume, accounting for roughly 84% of total flagged premium. The put contract's 3,400% OI ratio is the more statistically extreme reading of the two, even if the dollar commitment is smaller.

TXN Seasonality

Early September has historically been a mixed period for semiconductor stocks, as investors begin positioning ahead of third-quarter earnings cycles. The short-dated September 18 call expiration places the trade squarely within this pre-earnings positioning window, which may explain the urgency of the flow.

TXN Relative Performance

TXN is trading at $256.36, up 1.19% today, placing it roughly at the midpoint of its 52-week range between $152.76 and $334.03. The stock is significantly below its 52-week high, suggesting it has yet to reclaim the momentum seen at its peak. Today's gain outpaces what would be considered a flat session for the broader semiconductor sector, and the unusual call activity may reflect growing conviction that TXN is set to close some of that gap to its highs in the near term.