Intel (NASDAQ:
INTC) shares are trading higher today in light of
a BusinessWeek article that downplayed the economic impact of the recent Chinese earthquake on companies with outposts in that part of China, a list which includes Intel. Not hurting INTC today is
a weak earnings outlook from
Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), which is often seen as a bellweather for technology companies. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on INTC.
After hitting a one-year high of $27.99 in December, the stock hit a one-year low of $18.05 in January. INTC opened this morning at $23.85. So far today the stock has hit a low of $23.76 and a high of $24.29. As of 12:15, INTC is trading at $24.16, up $0.40 (1.7%). The chart for INTC looks bullish and deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 Stars (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bull-put credit spread below the $21 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.7% return in just two months as long as INTC is above $21 at July expiration. Intel would have to fall by more than 13% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.