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.

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Options Indicators

INTC’s implied volatility is 73.57%, and with an IV percentile of 60.96%, current option pricing sits in a neutral historical range rather than an especially cheap or expensive one. At the same time, the IV/HV ratio of 1.24 indicates implied volatility is running above realized volatility, suggesting the options market is embedding somewhat richer forward volatility expectations than the stock has recently delivered. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.62.

Large Trades

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.

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.

Strategy Reference

For a lower assignment probability, a seller could consider a put credit spread such as selling the $110 put and buying the $100 put; traders seeking leverage without posting large margin might use a call debit spread like buying the $135 call and selling the $145 call.