Intel Corp ( INTC ) shares are trading higher Thursday following reports that the company is seeking an investment from Apple Inc ( AAPL ) as part of a comeback bid.

What To Know: Intel ( INTC ) is in early-stage talks with Apple ( AAPL ) about making an investment in the company, according to Bloomberg. The two companies reportedly discussed how they could work more closely together, but talks are not guaranteed to result in a deal.

Intel ( INTC ) has fallen behind in the AI race, but the company has announced large investments in recent weeks from Nvidia and the U.S. government. SoftBank also announced an investment of $2 billion in the chipmaker last month.

People familiar with the matter reportedly said that Intel ( INTC ) reached out to other companies in recent weeks to strike additional deals for potential investments or partnerships.

Apple ( AAPL ) used Intel ( INTC ) chips for several years before switching to in-house chips over the past five years or so. Despite the history between the two companies, the report indicates that Apple ( AAPL ) is not likely to use Intel ( INTC ) chips in its devices again.

Intel ( INTC ) shares closed Wednesday up 6.41% at $31.22 as shares rallied into the close and continued to trade higher throughout the after-hours session. Intel ( INTC ) shares are now up approximately 38% over the past three months, per Benzinga Pro.

How To Buy INTC Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Intel ( INTC ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

INTC Price Action: Intel ( INTC ) shares were up 1.52% at $31.73 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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