Intel closed at $123.86, rising 1.71% from the prior session.

Large options activity showed a pronounced bullish institutional bias. A $43.50 million bull call spread targeted further upside, while a $30.27 million short put complex collected premium across multiple strikes. The combined flow reflects confidence that Intel can hold above key lower levels and resume upward momentum over a long-dated horizon rather than preparing for a bearish breakdown.

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Options Indicators

Intel’s implied volatility is 72.39%, and with an IV percentile of 56.57%, current option volatility sits in a neutral historical range rather than at an extreme. That suggests Intel’s options are neither especially cheap nor especially expensive versus their own recent history. The IV/HV ratio of 1.07 further indicates implied volatility is only modestly above realized volatility, implying option premiums are generally in line with the stock’s recent actual movement rather than showing a major volatility premium.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.73.

Large Trades

A bullish call spread with a net debit of $43.50 million was the standout large trade, built by buying the January 21, 2028 $80.00 calls and selling the January 21, 2028 $130.00 calls in equal 20,000-contract size. With INTC referenced at $123.86, the long $80.00 call is deep in the money while the short $130.00 call is out of the money, making this a classic upside-defined-risk structure. The trader paid premium upfront to position for further appreciation toward and through the upper strike over a long-dated horizon, which signals a constructive directional view while capping upside in exchange for reducing entry cost versus an outright call purchase.

A three-leg put combination collecting a net credit of $30.27 million was the other major trade, consisting entirely of short puts expiring June 17, 2027: short 10,000 of the $100.00 put, short 5,000 of the $125.00 put, and short 5,000 of the $75.00 put. With the stock at $123.86, the $125.00 put is in the money while the $100.00 and $75.00 puts are out of the money, so this structure reflects aggressive premium collection with downside exposure and a willingness to accumulate stock on weakness. The positioning is not a synthetic structure but rather a put-selling complex that leans bullish to neutral, expressing confidence that INTC can hold up above key lower levels over time even as the trader monetizes elevated premium across multiple strikes.

Overall, the large-trade flow points clearly to a bullish institutional bias in INTC. The biggest capital commitment was a long-dated bull call spread that directly targets upside participation, while the second-largest trade harvested premium through sizeable short put exposure, a stance typically associated with investors comfortable owning the stock lower or expecting stability to strength. Taken together with the broader bulk-order mix, the dominant message is that large traders are positioning for continued upside or at least resilient price action rather than preparing for a significant bearish breakdown.

Strategy Reference

For traders seeking low assignment probability in line with this bullish flow, selling the January 2028 $75.00 put offers a distant out-of-the-money strike with elevated premium, while those preferring defined downside without posting large margin can use a bull put spread such as selling the $100.00 put and buying the $85.00 put.