Traders Purchase Large Volume of Intel Call Options (NASDAQ:INTC)

Intel Co. (NASDAQ:INTC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 633,213 call options on the company. This is an increase of 79% compared to the typical daily volume of 354,260 call options.

Intel Stock Performance

NASDAQ INTC opened at $21.47 on Wednesday. Intel has a 52-week low of $18.51 and a 52-week high of $51.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The chip maker reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.08). Intel had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 1.77%. The company had revenue of $12.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Intel will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Intel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Intel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick P. Gelsinger bought 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.16 per share, with a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,975 shares in the company, valued at $765,576. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Intel by 71.0% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,642 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Brightwater Advisory LLC bought a new position in Intel during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Intel during the second quarter worth about $2,115,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intel during the second quarter worth about $9,265,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Intel during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Intel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Intel from $35.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Intel from $40.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Intel from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Intel from $29.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.04.

About Intel

Intel Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells computing and related products and services worldwide. It operates through Client Computing Group, Data Center and AI, Network and Edge, Mobileye, and Intel Foundry Services segments. The company's products portfolio comprises central processing units and chipsets, system-on-chips (SoCs), and multichip packages; mobile and desktop processors; hardware products comprising graphics processing units (GPUs), domain-specific accelerators, and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); and memory and storage, connectivity and networking, and other semiconductor products.