This Week in Tech: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Twitter Inc (TWTR), and More

Rumors of the demise of the PC market might be a little exaggerated, as Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) recently upped its third quarter revenue outlook to $15.3-$15.9 billion, versus the previous range of $14.4-$15.4 billion. In addition, the management increased the midpoint of its gross margin expectations for the time period to 63% from the previous 62%. Given the stronger outlook, it’s not surprising that Intel shares gained over 6% during this trading week and hit a 52-week high on Friday. Despite the rally, shares of the stock still yield almost 2.8% at current prices. According to our data, 57 funds had a bullish position in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) at the end of June, up by three funds from the previous quarter.

Traders seem to think Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s merger with SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) is less likely to win approval from shareholders after the latter sank to a 52-week low on Friday. At its current price of $17.50, and Tesla’s current price of $205.4, investors are pricing SolarCity nearly 22% below what the price of its stock would be if the merger between the two closed successfully (Tesla is offering 0.11 shares of its stock for each share of SolarCity under the terms of the proposed merger). The solar sector has struggled recently with oversupply and the lack of strong demand due to the extension of renewable energy tax credits.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t a bad week for Tesla shareholders as shares of the company rallied by 5.6%. Although some investors weren’t too happy after hearing that the upcoming Chevy Bolt will have a 238-mile range, versus the Model 3’s likely 215 miles (with both vehicles likely costing around $35,000-$37,500), the fact that the SolarCity merger looks a little less likely and the news that Tesla won a 20 MW energy storage contract calmed many bulls. For Tesla bulls, the company isn’t just a car company. It can be an energy storage company too, with or without SolarCity.

A total of 26 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of SolarCity and 36 investors were long Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) at the end of June.

Disclosure: none