🤝 CDNS $24M Block Cross — Long-Call Holder Closes Profit Near Record High

📅 June 3, 2026 | 🔥 Unusual Activity Detected Last updated: 2026-06-04

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🎯 The Quick Take

Someone just crossed ≈$24 MILLION in Cadence Design Systems call options two days after the stock hit an all-time high. A broker matched a buyer and a seller on 5,500 contracts of the August 21, 2026 $400 call — off the open book, with a known counterparty on the other side. This is position management at the top of the range, not an urgent directional bet.

Update (2026-06-04): The next-day OPRA open interest snapshot has resolved the open/close question. The Aug-21 $400 call OI fell from 11,871 to 8,783 (−3,088), confirming this was a SELL-TO-CLOSE (STC) — a long-call holder locked in profits near the record high and reduced their position. This was not a new premium-collection short and was not a new bearish bet. See the full resolution callout below.

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📊 Company Overview

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is one of the two dominant players — alongside Synopsys — in the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) duopoly. Its mission-critical software, IP, and hardware (emulation and prototyping systems) are used by virtually every major chip and system designer on the planet to architect, simulate, verify, and tape out semiconductors. As Simply Wall St notes, Cadence "provides essential software that is deeply embedded in the workflow of every major chip designer, creating massive switching costs." Translation: once a chip team is on Cadence tools, they almost never leave.

• Market Cap: ≈$103–114 billion (range reflects the volatile June 1 surge; per WallStreetZen approximately $114B at the recent peak)
• Sector / Industry: Technology — Application Software / EDA & Semiconductor Design Tools
• Core Business: EDA software (Virtuoso, Spectre, Innovus), hardware emulation/prototyping (Palladium, Protium), design IP, and the newly-launched agentic AI platform (AgentStack, ChipStack, ViraStack, InnoStack)
• Recent Acquisition: Closed a €2.7B / ≈$3.18B acquisition of Hexagon's Design & Engineering business on February 23, 2026, expanding into multiphysics simulation for aerospace and automotive
• YTD 2026: Up ≈20%, with shares printing an all-time high of $414.92 on June 1, 2026 after a ≈10.5% single-day surge on the ChipStack AI Super Agent debut at Computex — the trade print two days later at $406.39 sits just below that ATH

Real talk: this is not a speculative growth story. Cadence is a near-monopoly tool vendor with an $8B backlog, 44% non-GAAP operating margins, and a freshly-raised FY2026 revenue guide of $6.125–6.225B. The options market is pricing premium into record-high IV — and someone just crossed $24M worth of it.

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💰 The Option Flow Breakdown

📊 The Tape (June 3, 2026 @ 11:05:28)

Flow-type tag: 🤝 BLOCK CROSS — OPRA condition code 127 (SINGLE_LEG_CROSS_NON_ISO). A broker matched a buyer and a seller off the open book. This is a negotiated, facilitated block — there is a known counterparty on the other side. This is NOT an aggressive electronic sweep. Do NOT interpret it as a panicked directional bet. The right framing is: a desk positioned, crossed, and moved on.

Order type: ✅ CONFIRMED STC (Sell-to-Close). Volume 5,500 vs. prior open interest 11,871. The June 4 OPRA OI snapshot shows OI fell to 8,783 (−3,088), confirming a closing sale. A holder of long $400 calls reduced their position near the record high, locking in gains. This is NOT a fresh premium-collection short, and NOT a new bearish position.

Why the archive and OI confirm STC: The OI history shows three prior opening events (total +11,720 contracts built up between April 21 and May 22, 2026) on this $400 strike. The SELL of 5,500 against that existing OI, combined with the OI drop to 8,783, is consistent with an institutional holder partially unwinding a long-call position that was built at lower prices — a rational profit-lock near a fresh all-time high. The OI fell by ≈3,088 (not the full 5,500), suggesting this particular cross may have been part of a larger set of closing activity across accounts on this strike.

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✅ RESOLVED — Next-Day OI Update (2026-06-04)

We said come back today for the OPRA OI snapshot. Here it is.

OI fell by 3,088 overnight — the sell was a closing trade. A long-call holder reduced their position near the record high. This rules out:

• A fresh premium-collection short (STO) — OI would have been flat or risen
• A new bearish bet — STO framing no longer applies

What actually happened: Someone who built a long $400 call position between April 21 and May 22 (when OI stepped up by +11,720 contracts) used the post-Computex all-time-high environment to sell ≈5,500 of those calls at $43.36 each and lock in gains. The block cross format — a broker-facilitated bilateral trade with a known counterparty — is exactly how institutional desks exit large call positions cleanly without moving the market. This is disciplined profit-taking, not a directional signal about where CDNS heads next.

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✅ OI Resolution — Confirmed Profit-Taking (Updated 2026-06-04)

We flagged this as provisional on June 3 and asked you to check back. The June 4 pre-market OPRA OI snapshot is now in.

Result: OI fell from 11,871 to 8,783 (−3,088). This was a SELL-TO-CLOSE.

The scenarios we laid out on June 3:

Bottom line: A long-call holder reduced their position near the all-time high. No new short exposure was opened. The $43.36 collected per contract was profit on a long-call position built at lower prices — not premium harvested against a fresh short. All conditional "if STO" language in this article should now be read as the non-applicable scenario. The "if STC" framing was correct.

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🤓 What This Actually Means — Plain English

Let's decode this step by step for every reader.

What is an Aug-21-2026 $400 Call?

This option gives the holder the right to buy 100 shares of CDNS at $400 any time before August 21, 2026. With the stock at $406.39, the $400 strike is just barely in-the-money (ITM) — roughly $6.39 of intrinsic value. The option last traded at $43.36, so most of that $43.36 is time value (≈$37 worth), which reflects:

• The market's expectation of future CDNS price movement between now and August 21
• The Q2 2026 earnings on July 27 (≈3.5 weeks before expiry) — a live volatility event baked into this premium
• Post-Computex AI-surge implied volatility at elevated levels

The math that matters:

• 5,500 contracts × 100 shares × $43.36 = ≈$23.85M in total premium (≈$24M)
• The $400 strike is ≈1.6% in-the-money with spot at $406.39
• July 27, 2026 earnings fall inside this option's life — whoever sold these calls is exposed to an earnings volatility event before expiration
• If this is STC: the seller collected ≈$24M and is exiting a long-call position built at lower prices. The profit depends on their original cost basis (unknown from the tape)
• If this is STO: the seller collects ≈$24M in premium and keeps it IF CDNS stays below $400 by August 21. Above $400 at expiry, losses on the short call accumulate dollar-for-dollar (unless it is covered by stock ownership)

Why a BLOCK CROSS changes the story:

A cross means a broker arranged a bilateral trade — a buyer and a seller agreed on price BEFORE the print hit the exchange. This is how large institutions manage risk: they find the other side off-market, negotiate $43.36, and cross it cleanly. There is no "whale slamming calls." There is no "volcanic aggression." There is a known counterparty. Both sides walked away from this trade at $43.36, fully aware of what they owned and what they gave up. That is a very different psychological picture than an electronic sweep that pushed through the ask.

What actually happened (✅ confirmed):

STC — Profit-taking on long calls. Cadence hit an all-time high of $414.92 just two days before this trade on the ChipStack AI Super Agent news. A desk that built long $400 calls between April 21 and May 22 (when the stock was lower) was sitting on a substantial unrealized gain. With Q2 earnings still ≈7.5 weeks away and the stock ≈2% below its ATH, selling a portion of that long-call position at $43.36 per contract is disciplined risk management — lock in gains near the top, reduce earnings-event exposure, and let the remaining position run if the stock continues higher. The next-day OI drop of −3,088 confirms this reading.

Tone: Mildly cautious at the margin — a long-call holder reduced, which is a natural signal at record highs. It is NOT a panic exit and NOT a new short. The known-counterparty structure of the block cross means a separate buyer willingly absorbed this supply at $43.36, believing the remaining upside through August 21 earnings justifies the price.

The STO scenario is ruled out. The OI fell — not flat, not up. There is no new premium-collection short to worry about at $400 from this trade.

What the tape still cannot tell us: We don't know the counterparty identity, the price basis of the long calls that were closed, whether any stock hedge accompanies the remaining open position, or whether the buyer on the other side of the block was opening a fresh long or closing a pre-existing hedge.

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📈 Technical Setup / Chart Check-Up

YTD Performance

Cadence has been on a strong 2026 run, gaining ≈20% YTD and printing an all-time high of $414.92 on June 1 after the Computex ChipStack AI Super Agent announcement. The stock has since pulled back modestly to the $403–$407 range. The $400 strike — where this block crossed — is now a very meaningful technical and options level: it is the last major call-gamma wall before the ATH zone, and it coincides almost exactly with the current spot price. The big question technically is whether CDNS can consolidate at the $400–$407 range and set up for a further push through $414 into earnings, or whether the post-Computex rally fades as earnings risk builds.

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Gamma-Based Support & Resistance

Current Price: ≈$403.58 (per GEX snapshot)

The gamma exposure map for CDNS near current levels shows a clear structure. The GEX support_levels and resistance_levels buckets are empty in the JSON (the model didn't threshold them separately), so here are the key strikes from all_strikes ordered by GEX weight:

🟠 Call Gamma Resistance (Orange Bars — Overhead Sellers):

• $400 — The single largest gamma node on the board: total GEX 2.87B, net GEX +2.78B, call-dominant. With the stock trading ≈$3 above this level, it's acting as a magnetic attractor. Market makers who are short gamma here will sell into rallies above $400 and buy into dips below it — creating a gravitational pull that pins CDNS near $400 in the near term.
• $380 — Second-largest node: total GEX 2.42B, net GEX +2.23B, call-dominant at ≈5.8% below spot. A break below $395 could see CDNS gravitate toward this level.
• $350 — Moderate resistance/support further down: total GEX 1.69B, net GEX +1.55B at ≈13.3% below spot. Deep support in any significant selloff.
• $420 — Moderate call resistance overhead: total GEX 0.36B, net GEX +0.35B at ≈4.1% above spot — the first real magnet above the $414 ATH zone.
• $425 — Additional resistance: total GEX 0.32B, net GEX +0.31B at ≈5.3% above spot.

What this means for you:

The $400 strike is a gamma magnet — the largest single gamma wall on the entire CDNS board. When the stock sits right here at $403–$407, market makers are actively delta-hedging around this pin. This creates a natural gravity: CDNS may oscillate near $400 until a catalyst (earnings on July 27 is the big one) forces a breakout or breakdown. Above $400, the next significant call walls are $420 and $425 — roughly the zone of the June 1 ATH and just beyond. Below $400, the $380 gamma floor provides meaningful support at ≈$380.

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Implied Move Analysis

The options market is pricing in significant movement for CDNS across all timeframes. Here are the implied move ranges from the current price (≈$403.42):

Key takeaway for the Aug-21 trade: By the August 21 expiration, the options market is pricing CDNS in a range of roughly $307–$499. The $400 strike sits comfortably within the "expected" range — only ≈1% below spot.

Confirmed STC framing: The $43.36 collected per contract represents realized profit on a long-call position originally purchased at lower prices between April 21 and May 22. The seller is out of ≈3,088 contracts of that exposure (per the OI drop). Any remaining long $400 calls they hold continue to benefit from an upside move through August 21 and from a strong Q2 earnings report on July 27. There is no open short-call exposure from this specific trade to worry about.

The weekly implied move of ±4.3% / ±$17.18 shows how live this stock is right now — in a two-day window alone, the market expects a $17 swing. That kind of volatility is exactly why the Aug-21 $400 call was priced at $43.36 with Q2 earnings still ahead.

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🎪 Catalysts

✅ Already Happened (In the Books)

• Q1 2026 Earnings Beat (April 27, 2026): Revenue $1.474B (+19% YoY), non-GAAP EPS $1.96 vs. $1.57 in Q1 2025. Record backlog of $8.0B. Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $6.125–$6.225B and non-GAAP EPS to $7.85–$7.95 per StockTitan's 8-K coverage. Every segment grew double digits per TIKR. Cadence said it expects to achieve the "Rule of 60" for the first time.

• ChipStack AI Super Agent Debut — Computex 2026 (May 31 / June 1): The proximate cause of the ATH. Cadence unveiled the industry's first fully autonomous virtual engineer for chip design, reaching Level-5 autonomy in partnership with NVIDIA. Standard chip-verification workflows that typically take ≈5 weeks can now be executed in under 24 hours. NVIDIA engineering teams are already running millions of verification tests on the platform. Shares surged ≈10.5% on June 1, printing an all-time high of $414.92.

• Hexagon Design & Engineering Acquisition Closed (February 23, 2026): Cadence closed its €2.7B / ≈$3.18B acquisition of Hexagon's Design & Engineering business, expanding into multiphysics simulation for aerospace and automotive ("Physical AI"). Expected to add ≈$160M to 2026 revenue but is ≈$0.28 dilutive to 2026 non-GAAP EPS, becoming accretive in 2027.

• Wells Fargo $425 Price Target (May 26, 2026): Wells Fargo set a $425 PT on CDNS just one week before this trade. The aggregate consensus target of ≈$369–373 looks stale post-Computex — ≈43% Strong Buy, 36% Buy, 14% Hold across the analyst community, with targets expected to drift higher following the AI catalyst.

• China Export Control — Resolved (July 2025): The BIS rescinded license requirements for CDNS EDA software exports to China in July 2025, removing the acute overhang. Separately, Cadence agreed to a $140M settlement over past export control violations — also behind the company.

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🚀 Upcoming Catalysts (Inside the Aug-21 Option Window and Beyond)

• Q2 2026 Earnings: July 27, 2026 (after close) — Per MarketBeat's earnings calendar. This is the single most critical event inside the Aug-21 option's life — landing ≈3.5 weeks before expiry. Company guide: revenue $1.555–$1.595B, non-GAAP EPS $2.02–$2.08 per StockTitan. Watch: backlog trajectory after the record $8.0B, early AI/AgentStack booking data, China commentary, and Hexagon integration margin progression. This is the event that makes or breaks the $400 call on the way to August 21.

• ChipStack AI Super Agent Early-Access Rollout (H2 2026): Per GuruFocus, Level-5 autonomy capabilities and the AgentStack framework reach early-access customers in H2 2026. Any partnership announcement (especially additional NVIDIA or hyperscaler validation) is a potential sentiment catalyst between now and August 21.

• Continued NVIDIA Collaboration: NVIDIA is both a partner and a marquee user of the agentic-AI verification tools. Joint announcements at NVIDIA events (GTC, etc.) through 2026 could move the stock.

• Hexagon Integration Milestones: Per Manufacturing Dive, the path from EPS-dilutive (2026) to accretive (2027) will be tracked each quarter. A strong Q2 Hexagon integration update at July 27 earnings is an upside catalyst.

• Buyback Support: Management committed to using ≈50% of free cash flow for share repurchases — a structural bid under the stock through any near-term volatility.

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💡 Trading Ideas

🚀 YOLO Trader — "Bet on the Earnings Catalyst"

For aggressive traders with small accounts, short time horizon

If you believe CDNS smashes Q2 earnings on July 27 — and the AI narrative only gets louder in the second half of 2026 — you could buy near-term calls heading into the July 27 report. The stock has already shown it can move +10% in a single day on product news.

Illustrative approach (verify live pricing):

• 📈 Buy CDNS $410 Calls, 2026-08-07 expiration (captures earnings + 2-week reaction)
• 💰 Cost estimate: ≈$10–15 per contract (verify live)
• 🎯 Bull case: CDNS gaps to $430+ post-earnings, the $410 call triples
• 💀 Bear case: earnings disappoint → stock falls toward $380 gamma support → full loss of premium

Why: The $400 gamma wall is a launch pad if earnings break the pin. The weekly implied move of ±4.3% suggests the market knows a move is coming — you're trying to catch the breakout above $400.

Warning: Buying short-dated calls into an elevated-IV environment means you're fighting time decay AND expensive premium. This is a high-risk, high-reward lottery ticket, not a strategy.

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📈 Swing Trader — "Fade the Post-ATH Consolidation, Play for Earnings"

For medium-term traders, $5K–$25K, 4–8 week horizon

CDNS is consolidating below its June 1 ATH of $414.92 with the $400 gamma wall pinning price. The setup: buy a pullback toward the $395–$400 gamma floor, hold through earnings on July 27, and target a return toward $420–$425 (the next call-gamma cluster).

Illustrative bull call spread (verify live):

• 📈 Buy CDNS $400 Call, 2026-08-21 expiration
• 📉 Sell CDNS $425 Call, 2026-08-21 expiration (cap your cost)
• 💰 Net debit: ≈$18–22 per spread (estimate; verify live)
• 🎯 Max profit: ≈$3–7 per spread if CDNS closes above $425 by August 21
• ⚠️ Max loss: the net debit if CDNS closes below $400 by August 21

Why this works: You're getting defined risk into the July 27 earnings event, with the $400 gamma wall acting as a natural entry signal. If Cadence beats and raises again — which they have done consistently — the path toward $420–$425 opens up. The $425 Wells Fargo PT is your rough target.

Key risk: The June 4 OI confirmation rules out a fresh short-call overhang at $400 from this trade — the desk was closing a long, not opening new selling pressure. The $400 gamma wall remains the dominant technical pin, but it is not reinforced by a $24M new short position from this specific cross.

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💰 Premium Collector — "Sell the AI Hype, Harvest the IV"

For income-oriented traders with stock ownership, neutral-to-cautious short-term view

The June 4 OI update confirmed the June 3 block was a long-call close (STC), not a covered-call write (STO). But the covered-call strategy itself remains a valid idea for CDNS stock holders, independent of that specific block. With the stock near all-time highs and IV elevated post-Computex, selling a covered call at $400 (or $410, $420) against a CDNS long stock position is a way to collect ≈$43 per contract ($4,300 per 100 shares) while defining your "exit" above $400.

The math:

• 🐻 If CDNS stays below $400 by August 21: you keep the full $43.36 premium — a 10.8% return on the $400 strike in ≈79 days
• 📈 If CDNS rallies above $443.36 (breakeven): you participate in stock gains but the call gets called away at $400. Your effective sale price is $400 + $43.36 = $443.36
• 💀 Risk: a sharp drop in CDNS stock below $363 (spot minus premium) means you're losing on the equity position faster than the $43.36 covers

Why this works: You're harvesting elevated earnings-vol premium and Q2 uncertainty risk. If CDNS pins near $400 (the gamma magnet), theta works in your favor every day.

Caution: A strong Q2 earnings beat and further AI product announcements could send CDNS above $450. In that scenario, your stock gets called away, and you miss the upside above $443.36.

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🌱 Beginner — "Watch from the Sidelines, Learn the Setup"

Entry level investor just getting started with options and options flow

Here is the honest beginner take: do not trade this setup until you understand it. There is a live ambiguity (STO vs. STC), a pending volatility event (Q2 earnings, July 27), and a complex gamma dynamic at $400. None of those are beginner-friendly.

What you CAN do:

• ✅ The June 4 OI resolution is a live example of how options flow analysis works in practice: we flagged the ambiguity on June 3, predicted the outcome (STC), and the next-morning OI snapshot confirmed it. Follow CDNS on your watchlist and watch the July 27 earnings reaction as the next data point.
• 📅 Watch the stock's reaction on July 27 (Q2 earnings). Note how the stock moves versus how options priced in the move in advance.
• 📚 This trade is now a clean case study in the difference between STO (selling to open — you're the premium collector, with theoretical unlimited risk if naked) vs. STC (selling to close — you're exiting a long you already own, limited risk). The June 3 tape was ambiguous; the June 4 OI confirmed STC. That resolution process is the core lesson.

If you want exposure with limited risk: Consider buying CDNS stock on a dip toward the $395–$400 gamma support, with a stop below $380 (the second gamma wall). Defined risk, no options complexity.

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🎲 Price Targets & Scenarios Through August 21, 2026

Combining gamma levels, implied move ranges, and the catalyst calendar:

📈 Bull Case (35% probability by Aug 21)

Target: $430–$499

CDNS beats Q2 on July 27 — revenue above $1.595B guidance, guidance raised again, and early AgentStack/ChipStack adoption data surprises. Stock breaks above the $414.92 ATH and pushes toward $420–$425 (the next gamma cluster). Implied-move upper bound for Aug-21 OPEX is $499.08.

The STO scenario is ruled out — the June 4 OI confirmed this was a closing trade. For the long-call holder who exited at $43.36, the bull case simply means they left some upside on the table — a rational outcome of de-risking near the ATH.

🎯 Base Case (45% probability)

Target: $390–$420 range into August 21

CDNS consolidates near the $400 gamma pin ahead of Q2. Earnings are in line — solid but not a blowout. Stock oscillates between $390 and $420 into August 21. The $400 call expires roughly at-the-money or slightly in-the-money.

For the confirmed long-call closer (STC): they exited cleanly at $43.36 and avoided the earnings vol risk. The remaining open interest (≈8,783 contracts after the close) suggests other long-call holders are still positioned for a potential earnings breakout.

📉 Bear Case (20% probability)

Target: below $380 — call expires out of the money

Q2 guidance disappoints (perhaps Hexagon dilution worse than expected, or China commentary spooks), or a broader macro sell-off hits high-multiple software stocks. Stock falls toward the $380 gamma support (total GEX 2.42B), which should provide meaningful buying pressure.

For the confirmed long-call closer (STC): the $400 call expires worthless and they keep the full $43.36 per contract collected on June 3 — the maximum outcome for their closing sale. No ongoing risk from this specific trade.

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⚠️ Risks & Honest Limits

What the OPRA tape CANNOT tell us:

• Counterparty identity: A block cross has a known counterparty to the broker who arranged it — but we don't know who that is. We don't know if the buyer is a retail firm, a hedge fund, or a market maker taking the other side as a delta-hedge.
• Sign of pre-existing OI: The archive found prior OI step-ups of +11,720 contracts between April 21 and May 22. We don't know WHO built that OI — whether the SELL today is the same party unwinding, or a completely different account using the same strike.
• Any stock hedge: A large CDNS equity holder selling 5,500 calls would look identical on the OPRA tape to a naked speculator selling 5,500 calls. The tape has no visibility into stock positions.
• Other legs: Condition code 127 is a single-leg cross — there is no paired option leg at another strike. But there may be stock, futures, or equity activity transacted separately and not visible on the OPRA tape.
• Open vs. close: ✅ Resolved June 4, 2026. The June 4 OPRA OI snapshot showed OI fell from 11,871 to 8,783 (−3,088), confirming this was a closing sale (STC). The original ambiguity from Vol/OI ≈ 0.46 is no longer in play.

Structural risks specific to CDNS:

• ⚠️ Valuation is stretched: At ≈42x NTM P/E and a trailing P/E of ≈87x per Simply Wall St, any earnings or guidance stumble on July 27 could trigger a significant pullback from record highs. The premium multiple leaves little room for error.
• 🇨🇳 China export controls tail risk: The BIS rescinded the 2025 license requirements, but re-imposition remains a policy risk. Any renewal of restrictions on EDA software exports would hit revenue guidance materially.
• 🏢 Synopsys-Ansys competition: Intensifying competition in the EDA and system-simulation space, notably Synopsys's Ansys acquisition, could pressure Cadence's edge in system-level design.
• 💸 Hexagon dilution: The deal is ≈$0.28 dilutive to 2026 non-GAAP EPS per Manufacturing Dive; integration must deliver on the $160M revenue add to avoid margin pressure.
• 🤖 AI narrative dependence: A meaningful portion of the June 1 re-rating was driven by ChipStack Level-5 autonomy hype. Slower-than-expected enterprise adoption of agentic-AI chip-design tools could compress the premium multiple.

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🎯 The Bottom Line

Here's the deal: A desk just crossed ≈$24M in Cadence Aug-21 $400 calls two days after the company printed an all-time high on AI product news. This is a negotiated position-management trade — not an aggressive directional bet. The broker arranged a known buyer and seller. Both parties walked away at $43.36, knowing exactly what they owned.

✅ Resolved (June 4, 2026): The CDNS Aug-21 $400 call OI dropped from 11,871 to 8,783 (−3,088). This was profit-taking on a long call position (STC) — a rational exit at a record high. The covered-call/short-vol scenario is ruled out.

What this trade tells us:

• 🧠 The $400 strike is the gamma pin for CDNS heading into summer. The block cross at exactly this level reinforces it as the key battleground.
• 📅 July 27, 2026 — Q2 earnings is the make-or-break event inside the Aug-21 option window. Beat-and-raise sends CDNS back toward $420-$425; a guide-miss from $8B-backlog heights sends it toward $380.
• 💰 The confirmed STC clarifies the picture: the $43.36 collected on June 3 was realized profit on an existing long, not new selling pressure being created at $400. Remaining OI of ≈8,783 contracts suggests other participants are still long this strike into earnings.

If you own CDNS stock:

• ✅ The $400 gamma wall is your near-term support and gravity center. A close above $414.92 (the ATH) on strong volume is the signal the $400 pin is breaking to the upside. The STC confirmation removes the concern of a $24M new short-call overhang from this trade.
• 🛡️ Watch $380 (second gamma wall, 2.42B total GEX) as your downside line in the sand.

If you're watching from the sidelines:

• 🎯 The risk/reward is cleaner now that the STO overhang is ruled out. The next major event is Q2 earnings on July 27 — that is where the $400 gamma pin either holds or breaks.
• 📅 The $400 gamma pin will likely hold until July 27. Use it as your reference point.

Remaining calendar:

• 📅 July 27, 2026 (after close) — Q2 FY2026 earnings (the key event inside the option window)
• 📅 August 21, 2026 — Option expiration for this block

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Disclaimer: Options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. The order-type classification for this trade has been updated to confirmed STC based on the June 4, 2026 OPRA open interest snapshot (OI fell from 11,871 to 8,783, −3,088). The OPRA tape cannot reveal counterparty identity, the price basis of any pre-existing position, any stock hedge, or any off-tape equity transactions. This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Past unusual options activity does not guarantee profitable trading outcomes. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before trading options or equities.

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Last updated: 2026-06-04 — OI resolution: confirmed STC (OI 11,871 → 8,783, −3,088). Order type updated from provisional to confirmed. All conditional STO framing removed.

About Cadence Design Systems: Cadence is the co-leader (with Synopsys) of the Electronic Design Automation duopoly, providing mission-critical software, IP, and hardware emulation tools to virtually every major chip designer worldwide. Market cap ≈$103–114B. Sector: Technology / Application Software. The company's agentic AI platform (AgentStack, ChipStack, ViraStack, InnoStack) and the Hexagon multiphysics acquisition are extending its reach well beyond traditional EDA, into autonomous chip design and physical simulation.