Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Up 1.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Intel shares rose 1.4% to about $102.81 as the company highlighted its Crescent Island GPU for AI inference, offering up to 480 GB of memory and air-cooled deployment for existing data centers.
• Analysts see potential in Intel’s AI and foundry turnaround, with some raising ratings or targets; however, the consensus remains “Hold” with a $109.06 target price.
• Key risks include a roughly $2.1 billion operating loss in the foundry division, heavy manufacturing investment, a suspended dividend and concerns that constrained financing could slow AI infrastructure spending. Intel’s October 22 earnings report will be an important test of its recovery.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $102.88 and last traded at $102.81. 84,884,748 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 116,241,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.35.

Trending Headlines about Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel revealed additional details about its GPU D-Series, code-named Crescent Island, designed for AI inference. The accelerator offers up to 480 GB of memory, 1.5 TB/s of bandwidth and a 350-watt, air-cooled form factor, potentially allowing enterprises to deploy AI in existing data centers without expensive liquid-cooling upgrades. Intel Stock Notches Up with New Hardware Reveals
• Positive Sentiment: The company is also promoting Xeon systems, open software and ecosystem support to scale agentic AI workloads. The strategy could help Intel compete for cost-conscious inference customers against NVIDIA and AMD while reducing customer dependence on closed hardware ecosystems. Can Intel's New GPU and Xeon Technologies Enhance its AI Capabilities?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group modestly raised its Intel earnings forecasts to $1.08 per share for fiscal 2026 and $1.56 for fiscal 2027, above the current consensus estimate of $1.04 for the current year. The upcoming October 22 earnings report will be important for confirming whether improving chip supply is translating into stronger growth. INTC Stock: What to Watch Before Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are comparing Intel with Sanmina as both expand in AI infrastructure. Intel offers greater turnaround and foundry upside, but its valuation and execution risks are substantially higher. Intel vs. Sanmina
• Negative Sentiment: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan warned that financing constraints and uncertain returns on AI infrastructure spending could become major industry bottlenecks. This contributed to pressure across chip stocks. Intel and Broadcom CEOs Warn of Capital Crunch
• Negative Sentiment: Intel’s foundry revenue reportedly grew 31%, but the division still posted an operating loss of roughly $2.1 billion. Investors remain concerned that heavy manufacturing investment, negative margins and the suspended dividend will require stronger AI product adoption to justify the company’s premium valuation. Intel Is Down 20% From Its September High

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Intel from $77.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised Intel from a "hold" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Northland Securities upgraded Intel from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Intel from $60.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Intel from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.06.

Intel Stock Up 1.4%

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 market capitalization of $518.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.72, a PEG ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.25.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 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 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Intel Corporation will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Intel news, CEO Lip Bu Tan acquired 105,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,985.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,314,669 shares in the company, valued at $124,893,555. This represents a 8.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Intel during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Intel in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Intel in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Intel in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Intel in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 64.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intel Company Profile

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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