Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Down 28.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Intel shares plunged 28.6% to $65.76 after TD Cowen cut its price target from $95 to $75 and maintained a hold rating. Trading volume surged to roughly 449 million shares, nearly three times the average.
• Analysts broadly turned more cautious: DA Davidson and Roth Capital reduced targets to $70, while Roth downgraded the stock to neutral. MarketBeat’s consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average target of $98.73.
• Although Intel’s third-quarter earnings and data-center growth beat expectations, its weak fourth-quarter outlook reflects a deeper PC slowdown, capacity constraints and rising costs. CEO Lip-Bu Tan separately purchased nearly $10 million of Intel shares at $95 each.

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) dropped 28.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $75.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Intel traded as low as $63.20 and last traded at $65.76. 449,000,373 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 283% from the average session volume of 117,135,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.07.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Intel from $100.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price target on shares of Intel in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital lowered shares of Intel from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $120.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Intel from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Intel from $155.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lip Bu Tan purchased 105,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.00 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 8.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Intel News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.52, ahead of the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 21% year over year to $16.51 billion. Data Center and AI revenue increased 78% to $7.3 billion, and Intel Foundry revenue grew 58%. Intel Surpasses Q3 Earnings Estimates on Robust Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Intel agreed to acquire Israeli quantum-software startup Classiq Technologies for approximately $2.3 billion, targeting a full-stack quantum-computing business. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, although it adds to concerns about near-term spending. Intel Agreed to Buy Israeli Startup Classiq Technologies
• Neutral Sentiment: KGI Securities upgraded Intel to “outperform” with a $95 price target, but most recent analyst actions were more cautious. Wall Street’s targets remain materially above the current trading level, indicating potential upside if Intel executes its turnaround.
• Negative Sentiment: Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.25, well below analysts’ expectations of roughly $17.3 billion in revenue and $0.45 EPS. Management said the PC slowdown arrived sooner and was deeper than expected and could continue through at least the first half of 2027. Intel Shares Tumble on Lower Profit, Weak Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand is consuming chip capacity needed for PCs, while memory, wafer and substrate shortages are increasing costs and pushing PC prices higher. Investors are concerned that stronger server growth will not offset weakness in Client Computing, where revenue fell 5% in the third quarter.
• Negative Sentiment: A blast at Intel’s Israel facility is expected to reduce revenue by about $600 million, with the ultimate insurance and production impact still uncertain. Analysts including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, DA Davidson, Truist and Roth Capital lowered targets or moved to neutral/hold ratings, citing weaker demand, manufacturing constraints, heavy investment and possible negative free cash flow. Intel Warning Sparks Chip Rout as PC Weakness Clouds Turnaround

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in INTC. Southern Financial Group LLC raised its position in Intel by 0.6% during the first quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 14,313 shares of the chip maker's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intel by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 23,277 shares of the chip maker's stock valued at $3,250,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 26,643 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $3,720,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Walker Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 64.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intel Trading Down 28.6%

The stock has a market cap of $331.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 2.22. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.25.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The chip maker reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $16.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.56 billion. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%. Intel's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Intel Corporation will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intel Company Profile

Intel Corporation NASDAQ: INTC is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures computing and connectivity products. Its portfolio includes Intel Core processors for personal computers, Xeon processors for data centers and enterprise systems, and products for networking, edge computing, graphics, and artificial intelligence workloads.

Through Intel Foundry, the company also provides semiconductor manufacturing and technology-development services for external customers. Intel develops process technologies, advanced packaging, and other manufacturing capabilities intended to support its own products and third-party chip designs.

Founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, Intel helped establish the modern microprocessor industry and has historically supplied processors for PCs, servers, and other computing systems.

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