Apple Attracts Millions of Dollars in Bullish Call Option Trades: Options Chatter

$Apple (AAPL.US)$ attracted millions of dollars in bullish call option trades as institutional investors and large speculators take advantage of the dip in the stock price.

Around noon Monday, an active buyer paid a $4.61 million premium for call options that give their holder the right to buy over 1 million Apple shares at $310 each by June 18. That strike price is about $37 above the current stock price, signaling the buyer’s optimism that the stock could resume its march toward an all-time high. That trade of 10,025 call options, each covering 100 shares, exceeded the open interest of 8,570 contracts.

(To see Apple's options chain, click here. For the unusual options trades, click here.)

The company may release the new iPhone 17e over the next few weeks, offering customers a better version of the 16e model from a year ago, equipped with an A19 chip from the recently released iPhone 17 model and MagSafe charge, Bloomberg reported Sunday. Apple plans to target users in emerging economies and enterprises, keeping the price of the 17e at $599, the same as its predecessor, it said.

China accounted for more than 15% of Apple’s revenue in its fiscal year ended in September, while the rest of Asia Pacific, home to emerging economies with the highest population, delivered 8.1%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Expectations of a robust product cycle and continued expectations for robust growth in services” were two of the factors cited by JPMorgan analysts including Samik Chatterjee, when they raised their December 2026 price target on Apple to $325, from $315 after the financial results were released a little over a week ago.

(To see Apple's earnings hub, click here.)

The average 2026 revenue estimate among analysts who cover Apple rose by 2.2% to $462.14 billion in the past month, after the company exceeded consensus for a 12th straight quarter in the three months that ended in December.

JPMorgan analysts were even more optimistic, as they predicted a higher annual revenue at $465.16 billion. They also forecast an almost 14% jump in adjusted earnings to $8.50.

At current volatility, the purchase of those $310 call options expiring on June 18 has a profit probability of 20.41%. The contract has a breakeven level of $315.025, meaning Apple shares will need to climb above that for the buyer to make money off that trade. The call options have an unlimited maximum profit potential should the stock keep rallying. However, if the stock price stayed below the breakeven level, the buyer could lose $502.50 per contract.

That transaction of 10,025 call options with a strike price of $310 was posted at the same time when an active seller unloaded the same number of call options with a lower strike price of $285, expiring on May 15. That could be a sign that the seller of those $285 call options may have used the $9.27 million proceeds to fund the purchase of the $310 call options, and pocket the rest of his or her gains.

The price of those $285 call options expiring May 15 has almost tripled since Jan. 23, the last time the volume reached at least 10,000.

Share your thoughts on Apple in the comments section. Do you expect the iPhone 17e to generate enough investor enthusiasm to push the stock above its all-time high? Let your voice be heard by voting below. And if you want to read more options columns like this one on TSMC, or this one on Nvidia and AMD, follow me here, where you can also find my column that tracks short sellers' trading volume and other interesting stories on some of the biggest stocks.

Disclaimer: Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all customers. It is important that investors read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before engaging in any options trading strategies. Opening new options positions close to or on their expiration date comes with substantial risk of losses for reasons that include potential volatility of the underlying security and limited time to expiration. Options transactions are often complex and may involve the potential of losing the entire investment in a relatively short period. Certain complex option strategies carry additional risk, including potential losses that may exceed the original investment amount. If applicable, supporting documentation for any claims will be furnished upon request.

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