Intel Xeon 6 processors will be unveiled to CNBC on November 17, 2025 at Intel’s advanced packaging facility in Chandler, Arizona.
Tony Puyol
Semiconductors are a runaway train – up 17 in the last 18 sessions – and options traders are buying increasingly expensive call options to track the rally higher.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) After rising 5% on Friday, the sector is up more than 30% this month and implied volatility is rising with price, meaning trading options within the group is becoming more expensive.
The latest catalyst was Intel The overnight gains sent shares of the stock up 23%, a rally that nearly tripled the expected move implied by the options market on Thursday. Intel’s market value topped $400 billion for the first time since the dot-com bubble in 2000. Advanced micro devicesone of Intel’s long-time competitors, rose in lockstep, gaining 15%.
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Intel, YTD
Options signals look particularly bullish on memory stocks micron And Sandiskwhich saw huge growth last year due to demand from AI data centers. Calls outnumber puts on these stocks nearly 2:1, and the total call premiums paid on these stocks are at least four times higher than puts.
One notable exception is the largest of the group – Nvidia. Implied volatility volume on Jensen Huang’s AI Leader is lower than the SMH ETF, likely because the stock has moved much slower and is about $3 below its October all-time high.
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Nvidia, 6 months
At least one large trader took advantage of these relatively cheaper options and bought 7,500 calls with a $230 strike price expiring on May 15 – a transaction worth $413,000 that is betting on a 13% rise from here. Call volume in NVDA is about three times that of puts. The company is scheduled to report earnings on May 20.
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