Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $90.43 and last traded at $90.05. Approximately 54,667,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 118,057,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.97.

Intel News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel’s 14A process technology is being viewed more favorably, with commentary suggesting the node could strengthen confidence in the company’s foundry strategy rather than damage its recovery prospects. Successful execution could improve Intel’s ability to win external manufacturing contracts. Intel Stock Ticks Up as 14A Process Proves Its Worth
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for a potential catalyst from Intel’s foundry recovery, including possible advanced-packaging and high-bandwidth-memory contracts. Analysts cited in market commentary see meaningful wafer-foundry share gains and margin expansion by 2030, although major customer wins are still needed to confirm the thesis. Intel Could Have a Major Catalyst Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan’s earlier open-market purchase of approximately $10 million in Intel shares continues to support the perception that management has confidence in the turnaround. Intel also reported strong second-quarter results, with revenue rising about 25% year over year and earnings exceeding consensus estimates. Intel CEO Invested in His Own Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Intel is collaborating with COSMOS and Airspan Networks on an open-source, city-scale 5G and NextG testbed using the OCUDU software stack. The project could expand Intel’s role in programmable wireless infrastructure, but it is a longer-term opportunity with limited immediate earnings impact. Intel’s Open-Source 5G and NextG Work
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns remain over Intel’s roughly $20 billion equity offering, which increased the share count and diluted existing holders while funding capital-intensive manufacturing and AI investments. The stock also remains below the CEO’s reported $95 purchase price, keeping attention on whether the spending will generate sufficient returns. Intel Trades Below CEO’s Purchase Price After Equity Raise
• Negative Sentiment: Higher Treasury yields and a broader technology-sector pullback have pressured semiconductor valuations, while some analysts question whether Intel’s sharp recovery has already priced in much of the turnaround potential. Why Intel and AMD Stocks Faced Pressure

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on INTC. Daiwa Securities Group cut Intel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Intel in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Intel from $75.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Intel from $135.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.46.

Intel Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 2.22.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $16.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%.The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Intel Corporation will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lip Bu Tan bought 105,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,985.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,314,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,893,555. This trade represents a 8.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intel

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intel in the second quarter worth about $694,101,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Intel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Intel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Intel in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 3,185.7% in the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

About Intel

Intel Corporation, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Moore and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading global designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products. The company is historically notable for introducing the first commercial microprocessor and for driving the x86 architecture that underpins many personal computers and servers. Intel’s core business spans the design, fabrication and marketing of processors, chipsets and related components for a wide range of computing applications.

Intel’s product portfolio includes client and mobile processors marketed under brands such as Intel Core and Pentium, as well as high-performance Xeon processors for data centers and cloud infrastructure.