An Intel options trading surge anchored a broad bullish sweep through technology stocks on Thursday, with volumes in Advanced Micro Devices, CrowdStrike, and SpaceX all running well above their 30-day averages as traders positioned aggressively for further gains.
Intel was the day’s centrepiece. More than 1.3 million options contracts changed hands, nearly three times the monthly average, according to ThinkOrSwim data. Buyers leaned heavily into calls: roughly 270,000 call contracts were likely purchased against fewer than 140,000 puts. Of the $320 million in premium initiated by buyers, $231 million flowed into call contracts, SpotGamma data show.
The stock has extended its rally from its summer low by 35%, reaching its highest level since July. The most popular contract with expiry beyond Friday was the 115-strike call expiring 2 October, a position that still needs another 7.7% to pay off.
Inside the Intel Options Trading Surge: Ohio and SK Hynix
The catalyst drawing attention is Intel’s reported talks with SK Hynix over U.S. chip manufacturing, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday. Two structures are reportedly under discussion: SK Hynix leasing part of Intel’s planned Ohio semiconductor facility, and a potential joint venture involving Intel, SK Hynix, and major cloud companies to secure memory chip supply.
Both companies stopped short of confirmation. SK Hynix said it is ‘reviewing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, to strengthen the competitiveness of its memory business,’ but added that ‘no matters have been determined at this stage.’ Intel dismissed the Reuters report as speculation while affirming its commitment to the Ohio construction programme.
The Ohio site looms large regardless of any SK Hynix deal. Intel originally announced more than $28 billion for two leading-edge fabs there, and the company has said the nearly 1,000-acre campus could eventually support as much as $100 billion of investment at full buildout, according to Barchart’s analysis of Intel’s U.S. chipmaking programme. For SK Hynix, any Ohio arrangement would layer on top of a $4 billion high-bandwidth memory facility it broke ground on last month in Indiana, its existing U.S. manufacturing foothold ahead of any potential deal, as Yahoo Finance reported.
AMD and CrowdStrike Join the Rally
Advanced Micro Devices drew bullish flows of its own, with volume running nearly double the daily average. Traders likely bought 107,000 calls against 71,500 puts, Cboe LiveVol data show, and sold roughly as many puts as they bought.
The day’s standout AMD trade was a spread: one participant bought 1,500 contracts of the 550-strike call expiring 20 November for $8.3 million, then sold the same number of 750-strike calls expiring in June next year for the equivalent amount. Taken together, the position breaks even only if AMD trades above $615 by the November expiry, a bet that requires the stock to sustain a meaningful move from current levels.
CrowdStrike, up 120% over the past year, also attracted call buyers. The most-traded contract on the day was the 250-strike call expiring Friday, a $2 premium that needs the stock to advance another 2% to reach break-even.
The cybersecurity firm’s underlying business gives traders something to work with. According to its Q1 FY2027 earnings release, CrowdStrike’s annual recurring revenue grew 24% year-over-year to $5.51 billion as of 30 April 2026, with $255.8 million in net new ARR added in the quarter. Total revenue for Q1 FY2027 reached $1.39 billion, a 26% increase from $1.10 billion in Q1 FY2026, with subscription revenue of $1.32 billion rising at the same rate.
SpaceX: Big Premium, Bigger Put Sales
SpaceX rounded out the session’s active names, trading at its highest price since 7 July as this year’s star IPO continued to attract large institutional flows. More than $1.5 billion in total premium traded, with $1.1 billion tied to puts. That headline figure is somewhat misleading: roughly 60% of the put premium appears to have been generated by a handful of large sellers rather than buyers, including one sale of 41,000 205-strike put contracts expiring Friday worth over $200 million. Selling puts at scale is a bullish-to-neutral posture, consistent with the broader constructive tone across the session.
With Intel’s Ohio talks still unresolved and both companies preserving their negotiating room, the options market’s verdict on Thursday was that any confirmation of a deal would push prices higher still. The 115-strike Intel call expiring 2 October is the near-term test.
