Upside cap seen in Texas Instruments

A long-term trader is looking for limited upside in Texas Instruments as the stock faces resistance in place for much of the year.

optionMONSTER's systems detected a large prints in the January 2014 35 calls. Traders sold 8,574 of those contracts for $1.15 in volume that was well above the strike's open interest of 1,488 options, so this is a new position.

The calls could have been sold naked, which would have an initial bearish bias. The contracts could also have been sold against long shares in a covered call position, which would be bullish up to the strike but not beyond. (See our Education section)

TXN is up fractionally on the day to $29.68 but off close above $30 at the end of last week. The chip maker has faced resistance at this level since mid-May.

Today's total option volume in the name tops 24,000 contracts, about 9 times its daily average. Fewer than 50 of those contracts were puts.

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