Intel (INTC) reported earnings earlier in the week. Connie Madon captured the bullet points of the latest quarter. Here's the question: should investors buy the chip stock?

The shares finished on Friday down slightly to $21.08. That's a few bucks lower than the 52-week high of $24.37. It's also a few bucks higher than the 52-week low of $17.60. The chart shows a stock that's been up and down over the past 12 months. Indeed, I've been bullish on Intel, and so far, I can't say that the company has risen like I thought it would. Traders, though, must be having a ball with the narrow range.

Economies go in cycles. They push to their breaking points, then move in the opposite direction. We saw it clearly in the '90s when there was no end to up (except there was and we abruptly hit it in 2000). In 2008, it felt like there was no end to down. But we now know there is. Things are picking up, and there are numbers to prove it.

Don't be the last to figure out we're in an economic recovery. Sitting on the sidelines, waiting for one more chance to buy a stock at the bargain price you saw in March of 2009 isn't going to happen. Times have changed. The U.S. economy is on the mend.

Here are the numbers for early afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones: 11,787.38 +55.48 (0.47%)
S&P 500: 1,293.24 +9.48 (0.74%)
Nasdaq: 2,755.30 +20.01 (0.73%)

Intel posted another record quarter. The company reported a profit of $3.39 billion or 59 cents a share, up from $2.28 billion or 40 cents a share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast 53 cents a share. Revenue jumped 8.4% to $11.46 billion. Revenue was flat in its PS division and up 15% in its data center group, which sells server computers. Gross margin, or profit after manufacturing cost, rose 67.5% from 64.7%. Thomson Reuters had forecast 66.7%.

Here are some other highlights from the report:

U.S. stock futures are mixed, as investors await several economic reports. Intel (INTC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) posted upbeat quarterly earnings. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 20 points to 11,663.00, while S&P 500 futures declined 2.20 points to 1,279.10. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 2.25 points to 2,305.00.

U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.20%, the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.07% and the S&P 500 losing 0.17%.

The shares of Nvidia (NVDA) have been tearing up the charts in 2011, thanks to a lucrative settlement with Intel (INTC) and a high-profile new partnership with ARM Holdings (ARMH). The month of January isn't quite half-over yet, but the stock is already sitting on a year-to-date gain of 51.6%.

Judging by at least one headline hitting the wires, the stock's rapid rise is making some analysts nervous. However, on Wednesday, one upbeat options trader placed a bet on additional upside from NVDA during the near term.

Chip maker giant Intel Corp. (INTC) will be reporting its fourth-quarter results following Thursday's market close, with analysts expecting to see another strong quarter from the California-based company.

Going into tomorrow's report, analysts are expecting to see Intel report earnings of 53 cents per share on revenues of $11.37 billion. During the same period last year the company had earnings of 40 cents per share.

Alcoa (AA), Intel (INTC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will kick off a new earnings season this week when they report their results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Here's a quick look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see, followed by a glance at what's coming up on the economic calendar.

Alcoa

During its fourth quarter, Alcoa saw increased demand in emerging markets, sold surplus properties, and shared revenue targets with investors. Analysts forecast that earnings for the period will come to 19 cents per share, up from just a penny per share in the same quarter of last year. The New York-based aluminum producer also is expected to post revenue of $5.7 billion for the three months that ended in December, which is 4.5% more than a year earlier.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) February 65 calls and March 70 calls are active on total call volume of 14K contracts compared to 2K puts. January call option implied volatility is at 18, February and March is at 23. This is below its 26-week average of 28, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Intel Corporation (INTC) is expected to report Q4 EPS on January 13. January call option implied volatility is 31, March is at 22, April is at 23. That's compared to its 26-week average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement after EPS.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

For years Microsoft (MSFT) was the tech leader. Then, Google (GOOG) came along and Microsoft missed the entire search engine revolution. But Microsoft still dominated in software. Then came Apple (AAPL) with its iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Again, Microsoft missed the small device revolution.

The Wall Street Journal reports that now Microsoft is playing catch-up again. With its next operating system it will use low-powered chips similar to those Apple uses.

Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.