Intel Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:INTC)

Intel Co. (NASDAQ:INTC) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 617,741 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the average volume of 454,501 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INTC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Intel from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Intel from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Intel from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Intel from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Intel from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.04.

Intel Price Performance

INTC stock opened at $24.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.77 and a 200-day moving average of $21.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 1.02. Intel has a 12 month low of $18.51 and a 12 month high of $45.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The chip maker reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.14). Intel had a negative net margin of 35.32% and a negative return on equity of 3.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intel will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Finley Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intel during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Intel during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Intel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Intel in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intel during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 64.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.