Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Down 3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell about 3% intraday to $109.62 on modestly higher-than-average volume, following a sharp recent rally that has prompted profit‑taking and valuation concerns.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: a few firms upgraded or raised targets and market rumors (e.g., potential Apple/OEM wins and foundry partnerships) support upside, but the consensus remains a "Hold" with a $75.64 average target and ongoing skepticism about Intel catching up in AI versus AMD/NVIDIA.
• On fundamentals, Intel beat Q1 estimates with $0.29 EPS and $13.58 billion revenue and set Q2 guidance at $0.20 EPS, while an insider sold ~40,256 shares at about $99.53.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $109.15 and last traded at $109.62. 119,600,883 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 116,986,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.01.

More Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and raised price targets: Freedom Broker upgraded INTC to Buy and raised its target sharply, and Tigress Financial also lifted its price target this week — supporting the bullish narrative that Intel’s turnaround and foundry push have momentum. Freedom Broker Upgrades Intel Corporation (INTC) to Buy, Lifts PT Tigress Financial Remains Bullish on Intel Corporation (INTC)
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large OEM/customer wins and manufacturing partnerships (Apple talks, Terafab/Supermicro/SambaNova clearance) continue to fuel upside expectations for Intel’s client-CPU and foundry/service revenue streams. These deal rumors helped power the earlier rally. Apple Talks Just Changed Everything for Intel Intel Joined Elon Musk's Terafab
• Neutral Sentiment: Execution / product news: Intel is announcing partnerships and product deployments (e.g., AI-driven factory optimization with FPT) that validate commercial traction but are incremental to headline revenue. Intel (INTC) and FPT Partner on AI-Driven Factory Optimization
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in AI: Multiple pieces argue that AMD and Nvidia remain the dominant AI narrative (GPUs and accelerators), and some analysts say Intel is still playing catch-up on AI inference/training accelerators — a headwind for market-share expectations. Agentic AI Changes The Rules -- And AMD Looks Better Positioned Than Intel Intel Stock Struggles To Keep Pace: NVIDIA and AMD Pull Ahead in AI 'Two‑Horse Race'
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit‑taking risk after an extraordinary run: Coverage highlights that Intel’s share price has surged sharply (drawing bubble/comparison headlines), prompting skeptics and short‑term selling that can pressure the stock despite positive fundamentals. Intel's stock just had its most explosive growth ever. Why skeptics are piling on.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Intel from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Intel from $45.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Intel from $49.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Intel from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Intel from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.64.

Intel Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -176.80 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.28. Intel had a negative net margin of 5.90% and a positive return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $13.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Intel's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Intel has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intel Corporation will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intel

In other news, EVP Boise April Miller sold 40,256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.53, for a total transaction of $4,006,679.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 105,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,458,313.81. This represents a 27.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financially Speaking Inc increased its holdings in Intel by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Financially Speaking Inc now owns 682 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Intel in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Intel during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in Intel during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intel in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intel Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.