Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Falls 3.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Intel shares fell 3.6% to $92.07 amid renewed concerns about its foundry strategy, AI infrastructure spending and the company’s ability to attract major external manufacturing customers.
• Intel’s quarterly results were mixed: adjusted EPS of $0.52 beat estimates of $0.41, but revenue of $16.51 billion came in slightly below expectations. Investors are focused on management’s outlook, customer wins and progress toward improving foundry profitability.
• Analyst sentiment remains divided, with an overall consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.23. Positive developments include planned investments in quantum computing and AI partnerships, while some firms maintain neutral or sell ratings.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.6% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $90.84 and last traded at $92.07. 103,044,890 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 115,330,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.53.

Key Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel’s planned $2.3 billion acquisition of quantum-software company Classiq could help it build a full-stack quantum-computing business and diversify beyond conventional CPUs and foundry operations. The deal initially supported Intel and lifted other quantum stocks. Intel makes Classiq quantum computing deal
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive: Zacks upgraded Intel to “strong buy,” while New Street Research reportedly upgraded the shares to “buy.” An expanded Oracle AI-cloud partnership is also supporting the long-term AI infrastructure thesis. Zacks Intel rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street expects approximately $16.49 billion in quarterly revenue and adjusted earnings of about $0.40 per share, representing sizable year-over-year growth. Options markets imply a potentially large post-earnings move, making management’s outlook and comments from CEO Lip-Bu Tan especially important. Intel earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: A reported foundry setback has weakened confidence that Intel can quickly attract major external manufacturing customers. Investors are looking for evidence of customer wins, sustainable margins, capital discipline, and a credible path to improving foundry economics in the earnings report. Intel foundry concerns before earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s weak market reaction to its latest results raised concerns about the enormous cost of AI infrastructure and whether spending can generate adequate returns. That pressure spread to Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, while lighter cloud-capital-spending signals from major technology companies further hurt sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains divided. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating, and Rosenblatt reaffirmed “sell” with an $80 price target, highlighting downside risk if Intel’s results or forward guidance disappoint. Rosenblatt reaffirms sell rating

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Intel from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Intel in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Intel from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Northland Securities raised shares of Intel from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Intel from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intel currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.23.

Intel Trading Down 3.6%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $464.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.02.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The chip maker reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $16.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.54 billion. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%. On average, research analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intel

In other news, CEO Lip Bu Tan acquired 105,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,985.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,314,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,893,555. This represents a 8.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intel

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Intel in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intel during the second quarter worth $26,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Intel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intel in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Intel by 3,185.7% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the chip maker's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.53% of the company's stock.

About Intel

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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