Companies start to believe their own PR hype. Investors push a stock past logical limits. A company seems about to break down or break out. These are just a few things that can signal a stock with attitude. And... that attitude can be good or bad for the stock price, since attitude always catches up with reality. At least on Wall Street, that is.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) was down $0.23 (-1.09%) to close at $20.80 on lighter than average average daily volume. In a generally down market, Investors were not willing to bid INTC up even though there was a report that the chip-making giant said it has successfully produced a chip -- the size of a fingernail -- capable of processing a mind-boggling 1 trillion calculations per second. The chip, which Intel claims is the fastest ever made, could start being used commercially "in five years, if not sooner," Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner says. I guess five years may not be fast enough for some people playing the stock.

Intel has been on a shallow uptrend since last summer, and the technicals for the stock have been improving lately. INTC has a solid S&P 4 STAR (out of 5) buy rating with a 12-month price target of $25. Out of the 27 other analysts who cover the stock, thirteen give it a strong buy, four a moderate buy, nine hold and one gives it a moderate sell. Analysts seem think this is a good stock to own.

Intel's stock went on a steady but subdued rise from a low of $16.75 on June 13, 2006 up 34.3% to a high of 22.50 on November 17, 2006. The stock is now about 7.6% below its 52-week high. Could this new innovative chip design be just the thing to help the stock climb for the next few years?

Other technology companies like Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW), Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), Hansen Natural (NASDAQ:TXN) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) will probably need to play catch-up for a while to match Intel's latest chip advancement. A potentially expensive prospect in this extremely competitive landscape. Even AMD's recent new technology announcement may not be enough to counter this news from Intel.

For a neutral hedged play on INTC, I would consider a July covered call at the $20 level. There is even a dividend on the stock with a 2.1% annual yield.

Vic Schiller is an analyst with attitude at Investors Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Schiller owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.