Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Intel Co. (NASDAQ:INTC) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.39, but opened at $25.98. Intel shares last traded at $25.80, with a volume of 35,658,448 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on INTC. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Intel from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Intel from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Intel from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.88.

Intel Stock Down 5.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.08 billion, a PE ratio of -5.88 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Institutional Trading of Intel

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Intel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Integrity Financial Corp WA bought a new stake in Intel in the third quarter worth $257,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intel by 5.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,071 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Intel by 14.8% during the third quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 8,702 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Intel by 1,052.9% during the third quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 172,996 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after purchasing an additional 157,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Company Profile

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.