How Did One Trader Make 2.4 Million In 28 Minutes

By Trading Automation 05 August 2026

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A trader made $2.4 million in 28 minutes in 2015 by aggressively buying cheap call options on chipmaker Altera just as news broke that Intel was in buyout talks. 

How the Trade Happened

• The Setup: On a Friday afternoon in March 2015, a Wall Street Journal reporter tweeted and a Dow Jones headline crossed the newswire reporting that Intel was in talks to acquire Altera. 
• The Purchase: Altera was trading around $34.76. Sensing the news instantly, the trader spent about $110,530 to buy 3,158 call option contracts (representing roughly 315,800 shares) with a strike price of $36. Because the stock was not expected to hit $36 before expiration, the options cost a cheap 35 cents each. 
• The Halt and Spike: Within seconds of the purchase, Nasdaq halted trading on Altera stock due to the merger news. 
• The Payoff: When trading resumed 28 minutes later, Altera shares soared nearly 28%. The options value jumped from 35 cents to nearly $8.50, netting the trader a total profit of over $2.4 million. Read more about the timeline on or . 

For a look at another massive multi-million dollar tech trade, watch this breakdown: 

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