Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Here’s Why

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s stock price was up 3.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $107.57 and last traded at $104.56. 116,194,963 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 120,806,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.95.

Key Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Foundry funding supports the turnaround case: Intel’s upsized $20 billion equity offering gives the company capital to expand manufacturing capacity and pursue AI-related growth. Bank of America maintained a Buy rating, arguing that the raise reflects confidence in Intel’s foundry opportunity, although it trimmed its price target to $145. Intel Stock Rallies as BofA Sees Upside From Foundry Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: AI and server demand are improving: Intel’s second-quarter revenue rose approximately 25% year over year to $16.1 billion, while Data Center and AI revenue reportedly increased 59%. Server chip pricing also rose sharply, strengthening expectations for continued momentum. Intel’s Best Growth in 15 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Management confidence is supporting sentiment: CEO Lip-Bu Tan and a family member agreed to purchase approximately $12 million of Intel shares in the offering, a signal that leadership sees long-term value in the AI and manufacturing strategy. Lip-Bu Tan Investing in Intel’s Offering
• Positive Sentiment: Sector-wide AI enthusiasm is helping: Strong results from AI infrastructure companies and gains across semiconductor stocks are creating a favorable read-through for Intel’s CPU, server, and foundry businesses. Why Intel Stock Popped Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential return to memory: Intel is reportedly considering re-entering the memory market and combining memory with CPUs through advanced packaging. The move could open a new revenue stream, but it would add execution and capital-allocation risk. Intel Eyes a Return to Memory
• Negative Sentiment: Equity dilution remains a major overhang: The $20 billion offering increases Intel’s share count and could reduce earnings per share by roughly 4% to 5% in the near term, even if the funds eventually improve foundry growth. Intel’s $20 Billion Raise
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and valuation could limit further gains: Qualcomm’s new threat to Intel’s laptop processor business, the company’s still-unproven foundry execution, and a sharp prior-year run leave the stock vulnerable if customer wins or profitability fail to meet elevated expectations. Intel Faces a New Qualcomm Threat

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on INTC shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Intel from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Intel in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Intel in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Intel from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Intel from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.85.

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 firm has a market capitalization of $527.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.55 and a beta of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.73.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Intel had a negative net margin of 19.79% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Intel Corporation will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intel

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southern Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Intel by 0.6% in the first quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 14,313 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intel by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 23,277 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $3,250,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Intel by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 26,643 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $3,720,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 27,162 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 2,895 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.