Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Price Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Susquehanna upgrade: Susquehanna raised its price target from $45 to $65, helping INTC rise about 1.8% intraday to roughly $65 with ~91.5M shares traded (16% below average).
• Mixed analyst view: Despite several recent target increases, the consensus remains a Hold (6 Buy, 26 Hold, 6 Sell) with an average target of $50.19, reflecting divergent expectations among brokers.
• Earnings vs. outlook: Intel beat the quarter ($0.15 EPS vs. $0.08 expected; $13.67B revenue vs. $13.37B) but margins are still negative and sell‑side forecasts and guidance remain cautious for the year.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $65.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Intel traded as high as $65.84 and last traded at $64.94. Approximately 91,499,888 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 109,291,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.81.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on INTC. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Intel in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. DZ Bank reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Intel in a report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho set a $48.00 price objective on Intel in a report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.19.

Insider Transactions at Intel

In related news, EVP David Zinsner purchased 5,882 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.50 per share, with a total value of $249,985.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 247,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,514,160. This trade represents a 2.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of Intel stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $981,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 113,060 shares in the company, valued at $5,545,593. This trade represents a 15.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Buzz around Intel joining the Tesla‑led Terafab project and a new memo describing a “strategic alliance” with Musk‑linked ventures has reignited hopes for large foundry revenue and design wins if the initiative scales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several research shops have materially bumped targets (examples: Northland to $92, Susquehanna to $65, Benchmark upgrades), signaling growing analyst confidence in Intel’s execution and addressable market for CPUs and packaging. Upgrades help support flows into the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and product wins: Intel teamed with Nokia and Dell on a compact 5G edge UPF appliance (claims of ~30% perf. improvement and lower power), and coverage highlights infrastructure deals with cloud players — both of which support durable revenue paths outside PC cycles. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader industry dynamics — rising CPU demand from AI/agentic workloads and reports of supply tightness — create a tailwind for Intel’s server CPU opportunity and foundry/serviceable market. Investors view this as confirmation of sustainable demand beyond a short‑term rally. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum and market positioning: coverage notes large options activity, heavy institutional repositioning, and a historic multi‑day rally that’s drawing new retail/institutional attention — supportive for near‑term liquidity but not a fundamental proof point. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and pullback warnings: several outlets flag that the rapid run (and analyst re‑ratings) may have pushed multiples high and produced short‑term exhaustion; some traders viewed the prior pullback as a reminder that momentum can reverse quickly. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Foundry skeptics: commentary questioning whether Intel’s foundry ambitions justify extreme valuations (and whether execution can scale to match market expectations) remains a drag for more conservative investors. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC purchased a new position in Intel in the 1st quarter worth approximately $508,000. Stance Capital LLC increased its stake in Intel by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 125,375 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 68,020 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Intel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Intel by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 56,550 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 21,951 shares during the period. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Intel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 64.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intel Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.38 billion, a PE ratio of -811.65, a PEG ratio of 27.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.37 billion. Intel had a negative return on equity of 0.44% and a negative net margin of 0.51%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Intel has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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