Call Traders Circle Intel Stock Before Q3 Report

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) is 0.7% higher to trade at $94.37 this afternoon, modest price action ahead of the company's third-quarter earnings report, due out tomorrow, Oct. 28, after the close. Zacks Investment Research anticipates an earnings of 39 cents per shares on revenue of $16.44 billion.

INTC is eyeing a fourth-straight gain, once again bouncing off $86, which has stepped up as a floor since a late-April post-earnings bull gap of 23.6%. This area coincides with the shares' 200-day moving average. Despite a 33% pullback from a June 30 all-time high of $142.35, Intel stock remains up 126% year over year.

Investors are pricing in a 12.3% post-earnings move for INTC, regardless of direction, higher than the average post-earnings shift of 10.9% following the previous 12 reports. Over the past three years, the chipmaker has closed its next session lower six times.

Options traders have been optimistic of late. Intel stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.42 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), stands in the 85th percentile of readings from the past year. 

There is plenty of room for upgrades as well. Heading into today, 33 of the 46 covering brokerages sport a "hold" or "strong sell" recommendation.