Buzz Stocks: Intel, Google, and Alibaba Group Holding

Stock futures are signaling a slow start, as traders digest the preliminary reading on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and keep a cautious eye trained on Greece. Meanwhile, among specific equities in focus are chipmaker Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), tech titan Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Chinese e-commerce concern Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).

• INTC was one of the leading advancers on the Dow yesterday. The stock appears poised for more of the same in today's session, following reports the firm is close to shutting the door on a deal to purchase Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) for about $15 billion. Since the rumors first began in early May, shares of INTC have added more than 4%, and last night, the stock closed at $34.01 -- and secured its first close north of its 160-day moving average since mid-February. In the options pits, traders have shown a growing appetite for long puts over calls in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), for example, Intel Corporation's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.47 ranks in the 90th annual percentile. An unwinding of these bearish bets in the face of INTC'S continued rise could spell additional gains.


• GOOGL kicked off its two-day Google I/O conference yesterday, and announced a number of new developments -- mostly to its Android operating system (OS). Specifically, the company unveiled Android M -- its updated OS -- which includes a fingerprint scanner and Android Pay. Additionally, GOOGL said it is teaming up GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) to develop a virtual reality camera. On the charts, the stock started the year off strong, but has spent the past few months churning in the $530-to-$580 range, and settled Thursday at $554.18. Analysts have kept the faith, though, and of the 29 brokerage firms covering the shares, 24 maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found. Plus, the average 12-month price target of $638.30 sits in never-before-seen territory. Looking ahead, Google Inc will host its annual shareholder meeting next Wednesday.


• BABA has been making quite the comeback on the charts since hitting a record low of $77.77 in early May, up 16.9% at $90.95. The security looks ready to add to these gains in today's session, amid speculation the company could be joining forces with Yahoo Japan Corp., allowing the latter to expand into the Chinese marketplace. On the sentiment front, Wall Street has been extremely optimistic toward Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. For starters, all 23 analysts covering the shares maintain a "buy" or "strong buy" suggestion. Elsewhere, traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have bought to open 3.27 calls for each put over the past 10 sessions.