Buying chip stocks is getting pricey. Traders don’t care
Intel Xeon 6 processors were demonstrated to CNBC on November 17, 2025, at Intel’s advanced packaging facility in Chandler, Arizona.
Tony Puyol
Semiconductors are a runaway train (17 out of the last 18 sessions) and options traders are buying increasingly expensive call options to push the rally even higher.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) The tracking sector is up more than 30 percent this month after Friday’s 5 percent gain, and volatility is rising along with the implied price, meaning options trading around the group is becoming more expensive.
The final catalyst was: Intel The overnight gain sent shares of the stock up 23% on Thursday, nearly tripling the expected move implied by the options market. Intel’s market cap exceeded $400 billion for the first time since the Dotcom Bubble in 2000. Advanced Micro DevicesIntel, one of Intel’s long-time rivals, rose all together, up 15%.
Intel, YTD
Option signals are particularly bullish on memory stocks like Micron And sandiskAI has seen tremendous gains in the past year due to demand from data centers. The ratio of calls and puts on these stocks is close to 2:1, and total call premiums paid on these stocks are at least four times greater than puts.
One notable exception is the largest of the bunch – Nvidia. Volume implied by Jensen Huang’s AI lead is lower than in the SMH ETF, likely because the stock has moved much slower and remains about $3 below all-time highs in October.
Nvidia, 6 months
At least one large investor took advantage of these relatively cheaper options and purchased 7,500 $230 strike calls expiring on May 15; this was a $413,000 trading bet on a 13% upside from here. Call volumes on NVDA are approximately three times as many as puts. The company will announce its earnings on May 20.
