Intel: Ahead of Earnings Sentiment Remains Flat

Intel (INTC) is scheduled to release Q4 earnings this Thursday January 14th, after the market close.

Average analyst estimates for the leading chip maker are $.30/share in EPS and $10.16 billion in Revenue. Twenty-four analysts track the stock with four upward EPS revisions in the last 30 days and 2 downward EPS revisions in the last 30 days.

Last quarter, Intel beat average analysts expectations by .05/share or 17.9%, .33/share vs. .28/share.

I always find this a tough period waiting to see if the company is going meet, exceed, or miss their earnings estimates. One thing I have discovered of value is to analyze sentiment moves in a stock ahead of the company’s earnings release. In the case of Intel, I will use the piqqem sentiment index for Intel to see how sentiment has changed in the last quarter, for the months within that quarter, and from the end of the reporting quarter thru today.

I’m looking for moves or changes that may foreshadow the earning release. (piqqem leverages the ‘wisdom of crowds’ by allowing its users to vote on the price direction of a stock and then applies its own propriety factors to calculate sentiment for a security. In their model, -100 is the lowest and 100 is the highest sentiment).

Sentiment for Intel

Source Piqqem

The above chart shows Intel’s sentiment remaining in a narrow band between 32 and 35. The chart also shows a .45 increase in sentiment from the end of Q4 thru today. This last indicator has historically been the most accurate indicator regarding an earnings surprise, both upside and downside. On the Piqqem scale, Intel’s sentiment rating of 32.88 is considered a buy and absolute sentiment indicates a quality stock. Only Intel knows their actual results, but their current sentiment points to Intel releasing earnings in a narrow range around $.30/share.

Disclosure: No Positions