Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Raised to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Piper Sandler to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup began coverage on Intel in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Intel from $75.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Intel in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Intel from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Intel in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.80.

Intel Trading Down 5.6%

INTC stock opened at $100.32 on Wednesday. Intel has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $142.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $98.21 and its 200-day moving average is $89.79. The firm has a market cap of $506.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.54, a P/E/G ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 2.22.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.Intel’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Intel will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intel

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INTC. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intel during the second quarter valued at approximately $694,101,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Intel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Intel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Intel during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Intel by 3,185.7% during the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel-backed Altera is reportedly preparing an IPO that could raise more than $2 billion as early as 2026. A successful listing could highlight the value of Intel’s semiconductor assets and provide potential liquidity or valuation support. Reuters Altera IPO report
• Positive Sentiment: Intel and ASML are expanding work on High-NA EUV manufacturing, supporting the company’s argument that its foundry technology is progressing. Intel also continues to receive attention for possible memory-market opportunities and reported pricing power in enterprise CPUs.
• Neutral Sentiment: A partnership with Atsign reportedly delivered an approximately 88-fold improvement in encrypted Edge AI performance using Intel hardware. The announcement supports Intel’s AI and edge-computing positioning, but it does not yet indicate a material revenue contribution. Atsign and Intel Edge AI article
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, suggesting investors may have missed the better entry point after Intel’s major rally. The cautious stance reinforced valuation concerns. Piper Sandler Intel coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho reportedly reduced its price target to $92, citing valuation risk despite improving server demand and execution. Other commentary similarly argues that Intel’s recent gains have outpaced its current fundamentals. Mizuho Intel price target article
• Negative Sentiment: The broader semiconductor group also weakened as investors locked in profits, while Nvidia’s efforts to extend its AI-chip dominance raised competitive concerns for Intel and AMD. Intel’s shares had gained more than 20% over the prior five sessions, increasing selling pressure after the steep run-up. Intel profit-taking article

Intel Company Profile

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures computing and communications products. Its portfolio includes Intel Core processors for personal computers, Xeon processors for data centers and enterprise systems, and products for edge computing, networking, and other specialized applications.

Intel also develops graphics processing units under its Intel Arc and Intel Data Center GPU brands, Gaudi artificial intelligence accelerators, Ethernet products, software, and related platform technologies.