Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Up 4% After Analyst Upgrade

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares shot up 4% during trading on Wednesday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to an overweight rating. The company traded as high as $104.42 and last traded at $101.05. 117,643,414 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average daily volume of 117,164,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.14.

INTC has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Intel from $75.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Intel from $75.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Intel in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Intel from $60.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.49.

Insider Activity at Intel

In related news, CEO Lip Bu Tan purchased 105,263 shares of Intel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 1,314,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,893,555. The trade was a 8.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

More Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential SK Hynix partnership: Reuters reported that SK Hynix is considering leasing part of Intel’s Ohio fab or forming a joint venture to produce memory chips in the United States. Investors view the discussions as a potential way for Intel to monetize its Ohio investment, attract meaningful external manufacturing volume and expand beyond its traditional CPU business. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Turnaround optimism and analyst support: Tigress Financial raised its Intel price target from $118 to $145 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing the company’s Terafab manufacturing plans, AI growth opportunities and recent earnings performance. Commentary also highlighted CEO-led financing and efforts to address manufacturing and AI bottlenecks. Benzinga analyst article
• Positive Sentiment: Altera IPO progress: Intel-backed Altera filed confidentially for a proposed public offering. Intel is expected to retain a 49% stake, potentially creating a clearer market value for the FPGA business and supporting Intel’s broader restructuring and foundry expansion plans. Yahoo Finance Altera IPO article
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal remains uncertain: SK Hynix said no specific arrangement has been confirmed, meaning the reported partnership could still fail to materialize. Investors will likely focus on the final structure, timing, capital requirements and whether Intel can execute on its delayed Ohio fab.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of INTC. Whalerock Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intel during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Intel in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Intel by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 255,261 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $9,419,000 after acquiring an additional 13,858 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Intel by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 34,012,894 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $1,255,076,000 after acquiring an additional 423,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Intel during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,441,000. 64.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intel Stock Up 4.0%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.93. 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 market capitalization of $509.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.89, a PEG ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 2.22.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%.The business had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intel Corporation will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

About Intel

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.