NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Altera Corp. (ALTR) - Get Report stock is rising 0.88% to $52.75 on heavy trading volume on Wednesday after antitrust regulators in the European Union approved Intel Corp.'s (INTC) plans to acquire Altera for $16.7 billion, according to Reuters.

Intel stock is gaining 1.48% to $32.51, also on heavy trading volume.

The European Commission found no competition problems in the deal, which will be Intel's largest acquisition ever, Reuters reports.

"Our decision demonstrates that relevant deals can be swiftly approved if they raise no competition concern," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, Reuters added.

Santa Clara, CA-based Intel agreed to acquire San Jose, CA-based Altera for $54 per share in June to expand products offerings in its data center and Internet of Things market segments.

The deal is expected to close by February 2016.

So far today, 3.63 million shares of Altera have exchanged hands, compared with its average daily volume of 2.96 million shares.

Additionally, 55.56 million shares of Intel have been traded today, compared with its average daily volume of 33.94 million shares.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates ALTERA CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

We rate ALTERA CORP (ALTR) a BUY. This is driven by several positive factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

  • The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.45, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 3.98, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
  • The gross profit margin for ALTERA CORP is currently very high, coming in at 72.33%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 16.98% trails the industry average.
  • Compared to its closing price of one year ago, ALTR's share price has jumped by 53.51%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
  • ALTR, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 11.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 15.7%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
  • ALTERA CORP's earnings per share declined by 43.9% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, ALTERA CORP increased its bottom line by earning $1.52 versus $1.36 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 18.7% in earnings ($1.24 versus $1.52).
  • You can view the full analysis from the report here: ALTR