Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Up 3.7% – Still a Buy?

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s stock price rose 3.7% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $120.55 and last traded at $120.23. Approximately 93,123,516 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 117,444,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.93.

More Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel reportedly found a partner to help assemble and operate its Arizona factories. Sharing some production and investment responsibilities could reduce Intel’s capital burden and improve utilization of its advanced manufacturing capacity. Intel Stock Gains Despite Foundry Concerns
• Positive Sentiment: The broader chip sector rallied, supporting Intel as investors continued to favor semiconductor and artificial-intelligence infrastructure stocks. Intel’s September performance also reinforced bullish momentum and renewed optimism that its turnaround may be gaining traction. Intel Rises as Chip Sector Strengthens
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Intel’s potential role as an alternative U.S. supplier of CPUs and foundry capacity as customers seek more diversified semiconductor supply chains. CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s willingness to consider competitors as partners could accelerate that strategy. Intel Considers Competitors as Partners
• Neutral Sentiment: Gabelli Investment Management’s commentary indicates that it waited before investing in Intel, reflecting a cautious view of the company’s recovery despite the recent semiconductor rebound. The stance suggests investors want clearer evidence of sustainable earnings and dividend growth. Why Gabelli Waited Before Investing in Intel
• Negative Sentiment: Intel’s Arizona factory arrangement comes with operating restrictions, including minimum production requirements and inventory limits. Those terms may reduce flexibility if external foundry demand develops more slowly than expected. Intel’s Factory Partnership Constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly at “hold” because Intel continues to lose billions in its foundry division, while its sharply higher share price has moved ahead of many analysts’ price targets. Investors are therefore balancing turnaround potential against execution risk and an elevated valuation. Analysts Maintain Hold Ratings on Intel

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research increased their price objective on shares of Intel from $20.40 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut Intel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Intel from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Intel in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Intel from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Intel presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.49.

Intel Trading Up 3.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $606.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.98, a PEG ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 2.22.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. Intel had a negative net margin of 19.79% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lip Bu Tan acquired 105,263 shares of Intel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.00 per share, with a total value of $9,999,985.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,314,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,893,555. This trade represents a 8.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INTC. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 33.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 649,888 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $90,744,000 after acquiring an additional 164,339 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Intel by 69.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 58,514 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $8,170,000 after purchasing an additional 23,952 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Intel by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,493,552 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $208,541,000 after purchasing an additional 67,588 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Intel by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 216,849,675 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $30,278,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528,657 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Intel by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 26,172 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Company Profile

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures computing and connectivity products. Its portfolio includes central processing units (CPUs), graphics and accelerator products, chipsets, networking components, and other semiconductor solutions used in personal computers, servers, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence systems, and embedded applications.

The company serves a broad range of customers, including original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, enterprise businesses, telecommunications companies, government organizations, and other technology firms.