Market Overview
The Nasdaq surged to a record-high close on Monday (September 21), lifted by gains in Advanced Micro Devices and other AI heavyweights, while Treasury yields retreated from recent highs and crude prices tumbled to an 11-day low on speculation about a potential breakthrough in Middle East talks at a UN meeting this week.
Regarding the options market, a total volume of 73,860,952 contracts was traded, of which 61% were call options.
Top 10 Option Volumes
Top 10: NVDA, INTC, AAPL, MU, AMZN, SPCX, MSTR, GME, COIN, BABA
Source: Tiger Trade APP
Meta closed at USD 741.25 with a change of +11.43%.
Heavy options activity accompanied the rally, with two large trades dominating the tape: a $10.84 million out-of-the-money put sale and a $7.53 million net-credit call spread combination. Both structures lean bullish and center on premium collection, suggesting large traders are selling elevated volatility rather than chasing upside through outright call buying. The flow indicates confidence in downside support and a preference for defined, controlled exposure over unbounded directional bets.
A put sale worth $10.84 million stood out as one of the day’s largest single-leg trades, with 5,161 contracts sold at the 680.00 strike expiring on 2026-10-30. With META referenced at $749.44, this put was out of the money at execution, making the trade structurally bullish: the seller is expressing confidence that the shares can remain above $680.00 into expiration while collecting premium. Strategically, this is consistent with either income generation on a moderately bullish view or willingness to accumulate stock at an effective lower entry level if assigned.
Source: Tiger Trade APP
A call spread-style combination with a net credit of $7.53 million was another major featured trade, built with short 710.00 calls, long 765.00 calls, and short 820.00 calls, all expiring on 2026-10-16. This is a call combination that mixes both sold and bought calls, so it should be read as a spread structure rather than a simple outright bullish call purchase. The trader sold the in-the-money 710.00 calls, bought the out-of-the-money 765.00 calls, and sold the out-of-the-money 820.00 calls, establishing a net-credit position that points to premium collection with a defined directional view. Given the short lower strike, long middle strike, and short higher strike construction, the positioning suggests a more nuanced outlook than pure upside chasing, likely seeking to monetize time value while targeting a specific price zone rather than an unrestricted rally.
Source: Tiger Trade APP
Overall, the large-trade flow points to a clearly bullish institutional bias in META. The dominant tone comes from sizable premium-selling activity on out-of-the-money puts and additional bullish-leaning structures across the broader bulk-order set, indicating traders are generally comfortable underwriting downside and positioning for stability to further upside. Even though there were some bearish elements and complex call overwriting structures, the balance of large-money activity suggests market participants remain constructive on the stock, with sentiment favoring controlled upside or resilient price action rather than a sharp downside move.
Unusual Options Activity
Intel closed at $121.78, up 12.14%.
Options flow in INTC showed a strongly directional bullish skew, led by a $4.16 million out-of-the-money call purchase at the $145 strike expiring October 30, 2026. A separate synthetic long combination also drew attention, using a short put to finance a long call position for a net credit. The dominant activity pointed to institutional expectations for continued upside rather than hedging or defensive positioning.
A synthetic call structure with a $0.37 million net credit stood out as one of the day’s featured large combinations, pairing the sale of 13,140 contracts of the September 25, 2026 $110.0 put with the purchase of 4,488 contracts of the September 25, 2026 $135.0 call. With INTC referenced at $121.78, the short $110.0 put was out of the money and the long $135.0 call was also out of the money, creating a bullish synthetic long exposure that benefits from upside participation while taking on downside assignment risk below $110. The fact that the position was established for a net credit reinforces a constructive outlook, as the trader was willing to finance upside exposure through put premium collection rather than pay outright for calls alone.
Source: Tiger Trade APP
A call buy worth $4.16 million was the single largest displayed outright trade, consisting of 7,500 contracts of the October 30, 2026 $145.0 call purchased on a bullish view. Since the $145.0 strike sits above the $121.78 reference price, this was an out-of-the-money call purchase that represents a directional upside bet on a meaningful advance over the coming year. Taken together, the large-trade flow points to a clearly bullish institutional tone in INTC: the biggest outright premium outlay targeted upside calls, while the notable combination trade also expressed a synthetic long stance. Although there were some call-selling and put-buying trades elsewhere in the broader tape, the dominant capital commitment favored upside exposure, suggesting expectations for further appreciation rather than defensive positioning.
Source: Tiger Trade APP