The U.S. Government took a 10% stake in semiconductor company Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). With the stock up over 50% since the stake was taken, President Donald Trump is gaining praise. One member of Congress may be wishing they held on to shares a bit longer.
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What Happened: Investor Chamath Palihapitiya recently praised the "upside" that Trump got American taxpayers by taking a 10% equity stake in Intel.
Palihapitiya called the stake "an insane negotiation" and compared the returns of Trump to legendary investor Warren Buffett.
"Trump now has a better IRR than Buffett," Palihapitiya said in a tweet.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also highlighted Intel stock being up more than 50% since the stake, calling Trump a "genius."
While American taxpayers are currently up over 50% for the government's stake in Intel, this is, of course, unrealized gains until the stake is sold and the stock could go down.
Changing gains in stock positions is something Congressman Tim Moore (R-N.C.) might be looking at firsthand after selling his Intel shares in August before the recent gains.
Moore bought Intel stock four times in July and August, with the following purchases tracked by Benzinga's Government Trades page. Here are the trades and the high price for Intel stock each day:
- July 29: Bought $15,000 to $50,000, $20.85
- Aug. 1: Bought $15,000 to $50,000, $19.55
- Aug. 8: Bought $15,000 to $50,000, $20.02
- Aug. 11: Bought $15,000 to $50,000, $21.60
Along with the purchases, a disclosure from Moore shows that he sold $100,000 to $250,000 worth of Intel stock on August 13. On that day, Intel's high was $22.30.
Based on the high price for each of the days above, here are the potential profits.
- July 29: +7.0%
- Aug. 1: +14.1%
- Aug. 8: +11.4%
- Aug. 11: +3.2%
Based on the amounts in the disclosure and the high prices of Intel stock each day bought and sold, Moore made anywhere between $65,347.25 and $217,824.84 in profits from selling Intel stock on Aug. 13.
With Intel stock trading at $37.26 today, the same stake would be worth $109,185.59 to $363,953.07, meaning Moore missed out on potential profits of $43,838.34 to $146,128.23 by not holding the stock until now.
Did You Know?
- Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold With Our Easy-to-Use Tool
Why It's Important: Moore served on the Committee on Financial Services in Congress and the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence.
Serving on these committees could have led to Moore having information about a potential government stake in the semiconductor company.
Reports of a potential stake were made public by news outlets on Aug. 14. The stake was later made official on Aug. 22.
Whether Moore knew of the stake ahead of time, his early sale ended up being the wrong move. While the Congressman likely made a profit on his trade, he may have been better off holding shares. It is also possible that Moore still has a small position in the stock based on the dollar amounts disclosed.
Several other members of Congress, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rob Bresnahan (R-Penn.) have disclosed buying Intel stock several times over the past year and haven't sold out of their positions.
While Intel stock is currently up 54% in the last month, those praising Trump should remember that stocks can go up and down and the 10% stake in the company may change in value over time.
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