Analysts have been known to stir the pot now and then, and Citi analyst Glen Yeung can stir with the best of them.
Yeung rocked Wall Street earlier in the week by lending credence to a market rumor that’s been swirling around the blogosphere for some time.
In a nutshell Yeung said his sources confirm that Apple is in talks with Intel to make chips for the iPhone and iPad.
And he reitereated his call with great confidence in a live interview on Fast Money. ”We’re hearing from the supply chain that a discussion is happening and that it began earlier in the year,” he says.
As you might imagine, that comment alone sent traders Joe Terranova and Stephen Weiss (as well as the Apple faithful) into an absolute tizzy. “I’m just not really buying it,” says Weiss. Neither trader can imagine Apple making a switch to Intel after putting its money on ARM chips and structuring software around it.
Their argument is simple. Why would Apple unravel their manufacturing process for some Intel chip that’s not even ready yet?
"We've had a lot of pushback over the last couple of days," admits Yeung, meaning that the skepticism expressed by Terranova and Weiss is held by many. "The Street is in disbelief." However, Yeung sticks by his call.
He thinks the pertinent questions are - "What's different, what's changed, why would this discussion be happening now?"
He explains that Intel’s new ”22 nanometer tri-gate technology is so advanced that Apple would be foolish not to leverage it.
”That’s the genesis of why Apple wants to talk to Intel,” he says, because the new chip is made using state of the art technology that “allows them to lower power consumption by a factor of 10,” says Yeung. “It's something Apple has to look at. It behooves Apple to take advantage of it.”
How long must we wait to find out if Yeung is way ahead of the curve or just out on a limb. An announcement won't come until “the end of this year or beginning of next,” Yeung says.
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Trader disclosure: On June 8, 2011, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders; Terranova owns (XOM); Terranova owns (KSS); Terranova owns (CVI); Terranova owns (OXY); Terranova owns (TM); Terranova owns (BJ); Terranova owns (DIS); Terranova owns (PFE); Terranova owns (V); Terranova owns (HPQ); Terranova owns (FLX); Terranova owns (JPM); Terranova owns (MCD); Terranova owns (PEP); Terranova owns (VRTS); Terranova is short (DELL); Finerman and Finerman's firm own (AAPL); Finerman and Finerman's firm own (BP); Finerman and Finerman's Firm own (CMI); Finerman's Firm owns (IBM); Finerman owns (C); FInerman owns (JPM); Finerman's Firm owns (JPM) leaps and (JPM); Finerman's Firm owns (TGT); Finerman owns (UNG); Finerman's Firm is short (IWM), (MDY), (SPY); FInermans firm is long S&P Puts, Russell 2000 Puts; Grasso owns (AKS); Grasso owns (AMD); Grasso owns (ASTM); Grasso owns (BA); Grasso owns (BAC); Grasso owns (C); Grasso owns (D); Grasso owns (HOV); Grasso owns (JPM); Grasso owns (LIT); Grasso owns (LPX); Grasso owns (MHY); Grasso owns (NDAQ); Grasso owns (PFE); Grasso owns (PRST)
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