Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $54.32, but opened at $46.86. Intel shares last traded at $45.52, with a volume of 74,111,510 shares.

Intel News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on top and bottom line — Intel reported Q4 EPS and revenue above consensus, showing demand strength in servers and product momentum, which supports the longer-term AI opportunity. Intel Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed — some firms raised price targets and kept buy/hold ratings reflecting longer-term upside, while others keep neutral/sell calls citing structural execution risk; this analyst divergence adds volatility rather than clear directional support. Intel Stock Trending: Analysts Split Between Hold and Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Soft Q1 guidance disappointed — Intel guided Q1 revenue below Street expectations (range of ~$11.7B–$12.7B), and management signaled muted near-term profit visibility; that guidance, not the beat, is the primary driver of selling. Intel forecasts first-quarter sales and profit below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Supply and manufacturing/yield issues are limiting sales — management warned it cannot fully meet strong AI/server demand because of production constraints and subpar yields; investors fear continued execution risk and delayed supply improvements. Intel stock drops 14% as manufacturing troubles overshadow earnings beat
• Negative Sentiment: Hype-versus-reality reset — a recent surge in the stock priced in a turnaround; the combination of lofty expectations and weak near-term guidance prompted a sharp sentiment reversal and heavy volume selling. Intel delivers a reality check after stock surge fueled by ‘vibes and tweets’

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on INTC. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Intel in a research note on Tuesday. Northland Securities set a $54.00 price objective on Intel in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Intel from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. HSBC raised shares of Intel from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Intel from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Intel Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $216.66 billion, a PE ratio of 4,539.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 34.51 and a beta of 1.35.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.37 billion. Intel had a negative return on equity of 0.75% and a net margin of 0.37%.The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Intel has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Intel

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intel during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new stake in Intel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Intel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Eukles Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Intel by 55.6% in the second quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 1,400 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.