Intel Corporation closed at USD 87.48, up 0.25%.

Intel’s options tape flashed a clearly bullish institutional bias, led by a $1.12 million bull call spread and a $1.80 million short put sale. The largest displayed trade paired upside call exposure with out-of-the-money downside premium selling, while broader block activity leaned heavily toward bullish structures and premium collection. With INTC referenced at $87.48, the flow suggests positioning for further upside or at least a sustained hold above key support rather than preparation for a bearish reversal.

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Options Indicators

INTC’s implied volatility is 63.74%, while its IV percentile stands at 28.29%, indicating that although the absolute IV level is not low, it sits near the lower end of its own recent range. In other words, options are currently on the cheaper side rather than being richly priced, and with the IV/HV ratio at 0.90, implied volatility is also running slightly below historical realized volatility, suggesting option premiums are not showing an aggressive volatility markup at the moment.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 2.53.

Large Trades

A bull call spread with a $1.12 million net debit was the largest displayed trade, built by buying 10,000 Sep. 18, 2026 $95.00 calls and selling 10,000 Sep. 18, 2026 $100.00 calls. With INTC referenced at $87.48, both strikes were out of the money, making this a defined-risk bullish directional bet that targets upside into the low triple digits while capping gains above $100.00. The structure shows traders were willing to pay premium for upside exposure, but with the short $100.00 call helping finance the position, it also suggests a measured rather than runaway bullish view.

A short put sale worth $1.80 million was the other highlighted large trade, involving the sale of 1,991 Nov. 20, 2026 $85.00 puts. Since the $85.00 strike sat below the $87.48 spot reference, the put was out of the money, making this a moderately bullish premium-selling trade that expresses confidence INTC can hold above that level through expiration. Strategically, the seller appears comfortable either collecting income from time decay or potentially being assigned shares at an effective entry level below the current stock price, reinforcing a constructive stance rather than a defensive one.

Overall, the large-trade flow points to a clearly bullish institutional bias in INTC. The strongest prints combined upside call exposure through a debit call spread with downside premium selling via an out-of-the-money short put, a pairing that typically reflects confidence in price stability to higher levels rather than fear of breakdown. Broader block activity also leaned heavily toward bullish structures and premium collection, so the options tape suggests the market is positioning for further upside or at least a sustained hold above key support rather than preparing for a bearish reversal.

Strategy Reference

For a lower assignment probability, a seller could consider shorter-dated puts at the $75.00 or $72.50 strike, which sit further below spot and outside the highlighted institutional support area; alternatively, a bull put spread such as selling the $85.00 put and buying the $77.50 put would reduce margin requirements while maintaining a defined-risk bullish posture.