What to Expect from Texas Instruments' Earnings

Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ:TXN) is seeing quite a bit of bullish activity ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report, due out after the close on Thursday, Jan. 23. Citi weighed in on results from semiconductor firms, saying it expects overall market expectations to decline amid weak estimates from analog chipmakers and cooling demand in personal computers.

For Texas instruments, the analyst expects its first-quarter forecast to come in below expectations amid weak industrial demand. Options bulls are also chiming in, with 10,000 calls exchanged so far, which is double the intraday average volume. The February 195 call is the most popular contract, and new positions are being opened there.

TXN has finished only two of its last eight post-earnings sessions higher, though that includes a 4% pop in October. This time around, the options pits are pricing in a next-day swing of 7.8%, regardless of direction, which is more than double the 3.1% move the stock averaged over the last two years. 

At last glance today, TXN was up 2% at $196.20. Overall, the stock's technical setup isn't too impressive. Pressure from all the most relevant short- and long-term moving averages is still weighing, and the $196 level has been problematic for much of the last month. Texas Instruments stock is pacing for its fifth win in six sessions, however, and boasts a modest 4.5% year-to-date lead.