Intel closed at $91.13, advancing 11.30%.

The post-rally options market saw a stark divergence, with a massive $11.32 million bear call spread overshadowing all other activity. This dominant, premium-collecting structure, vastly outweighing a $2.12 million bullish double-long call, signals a broad conviction that the stock's surge may be capped, setting a decisively bearish tone for the session's large-trade flow.

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Options Indicators

INTC’s implied volatility is 86.12%, and with an IV percentile of 83.27%, current option volatility sits in the elevated zone relative to its own recent history. Combined with an IV/HV ratio of 1.21, this suggests the options market is pricing in volatility above realized movement, so contracts appear relatively expensive at current levels and buyers are paying a meaningful premium for exposure. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.85.

Large Trades

A bearish bear call spread worth $11.32 million was the largest highlighted trade, built by selling 4,400 November 20, 2026 $85.00 calls and buying 4,400 November 20, 2026 $140.00 calls. Based on the listed leg amounts, the trader received $8.89 million from the short call leg and paid $2.42 million for the long call hedge, resulting in a net premium received of $6.47 million. With INTC referenced at $91.13, the short $85.00 call is in the money while the long $140.00 call is out of the money, making this a defined-risk bearish income strategy that benefits if the stock remains below the upper strike and, more broadly, does not stage an outsized rally. The structure suggests the trader is willing to cap upside risk in exchange for substantial premium intake, reflecting a negative-to-neutral outlook over the longer-dated horizon.

A directional double-long call structure worth $2.12 million was the other displayed large trade, consisting of purchases of 2,000 August 21, 2026 $95.00 calls and 2,000 August 21, 2026 $100.00 calls. Both strikes are out of the money versus the $91.13 reference stock price, and because both legs were bought, the position represents a net premium paid of $2.12 million. This is a leveraged upside exposure trade aimed at capturing a strong bullish move, with the split across two nearby strikes indicating conviction in higher prices rather than income generation or hedging. Even so, the broader large-trade flow still leans bearish overall: the sentiment summary shows bearish activity outweighing bullish activity, and that negative tone is reinforced by the dominance of call-selling structures, especially the very large bear call spread. In short, despite one notable upside speculation trade, the aggregate large-order positioning points to a clear bearish bias on INTC.

Strategy Reference

With elevated IV, premium-selling strategies are favored; a trader sharing the dominant bearish outlook but seeking lower margin could consider a bear call spread with a narrower width, such as selling the November $95.00 call and buying the $100.00 call, to define risk while still capitalizing on rich premiums.