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

Key Points

• Intel shares gapped down from $119.33 to an opening price of $115.34, pressured by reports that TSMC could participate in Elon Musk’s proposed chip venture—potentially challenging Intel’s expected foundry role.
• Investors remain divided: Intel’s turnaround case includes stronger data-center demand, progress on its 18A process, rising foundry revenue, and strategic backing, while elevated valuation makes the stock vulnerable to setbacks.
• The latest quarter exceeded expectations, with $0.42 in earnings per share and $16.13 billion in revenue, but analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $108.49 target price versus the recent price near $116.85.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $119.33, but opened at $115.34. Intel shares last traded at $116.85, with a volume of 29,436,588 shares traded.

Key Headlines Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel’s broader turnaround thesis remains intact for some investors. Recent coverage points to improving data-center demand, progress on the 18A process, advanced packaging opportunities, and strategic support including Nvidia’s partnership and SoftBank’s investment. Intel’s foundry revenue also reportedly grew 31% year over year in the second quarter. Intel Data Center Comeback
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentators continue to characterize Intel as a potential turnaround winner, citing recovering CPU demand and the possibility that Intel Foundry could approach profitability. The company’s latest reported quarter also exceeded analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: The proposed Terafab project remains preliminary. Musk reportedly confirmed only early discussions with TSMC, so the ultimate ownership, manufacturing responsibilities, investment structure, and impact on Intel have not been finalized. Intel’s Terafab Opportunity Gets Crowded
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are interpreting TSMC’s possible participation as competition for Intel’s expected role in Musk’s large-scale chip initiative. Reports said Intel shares fell nearly 4% in premarket trading, while the news also weighed on AMD; Nvidia was comparatively steady. Musk Hints TSMC May Join His Mega Chip Venture
• Negative Sentiment: The news is particularly damaging because Intel’s valuation has surged substantially this year, leaving the stock sensitive to setbacks involving its foundry strategy. A rival’s involvement could reduce the value of Intel’s manufacturing capabilities as a strategic asset and revive doubts about whether its turnaround can meet elevated expectations.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INTC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Friday, July 24th. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright set a $150.00 price objective on Intel in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Intel from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Pivotal Research began coverage on shares of Intel in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.49.

Intel Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $591.73 billion, a PE ratio of -55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 2.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $100.94 and its 200-day moving average is $97.52.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. Intel's quarterly revenue 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intel

In other news, CEO Lip Bu Tan bought 105,263 shares of Intel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Intel by 21.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 28,142 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $3,384,000 after buying an additional 4,939 shares in the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Intel by 190.5% during the 3rd quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 6,100 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 4,875.6% in the third quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 2,239 shares of the chip maker's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Intel by 33.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 649,888 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $90,744,000 after purchasing an additional 164,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Intel by 69.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 58,514 shares of the chip maker's stock worth $8,170,000 after purchasing an additional 23,952 shares during the period. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Intel

Intel Corporation NASDAQ: INTC is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures computing and connectivity products. Its portfolio includes central processing units (CPUs), graphics and accelerator products, chipsets, networking components, and other semiconductor solutions used in personal computers, servers, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence systems, and embedded applications.

The company serves a broad range of customers, including original equipment manufacturers, cloud service providers, enterprise businesses, telecommunications companies, government organizations, and other technology firms.

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