Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Shares Up 11.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares shot up 11.4% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $55.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Intel traded as high as $59.17 and last traded at $58.95. 183,450,093 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 68% from the average session volume of 108,894,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.91.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on INTC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Intel from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Intel in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $46.19.

Insider Activity at Intel

In related news, EVP David Zinsner acquired 5,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.50 per share, with a total value of $249,985.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 247,392 shares in the company, valued at $10,514,160. This represents a 2.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $981,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 113,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,545,593. The trade was a 15.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Joining Terafab with Tesla, SpaceX and xAI gives Intel a flagship foundry/customer relationship and a visible role in a multi‑billion dollar AI‑chip complex, which drove strong investor enthusiasm. Intel to join Musk’s Terafab mega AI chip project
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is updating estimates: KeyCorp raised its INTC price target to $70 (and other firms have bumped targets), reinforcing the bullish narrative and attracting buying. KeyCorp Raises Intel Price Target to $70
• Positive Sentiment: Intel repurchased the 49% stake in its Ireland Fab 34 from Apollo funds, restoring full ownership and simplifying capital/operational planning for a critical manufacturing asset. Intel Reacquires Full Ownership of Ireland Fab 34 Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Collaboration updates such as the SambaNova + Intel heterogeneous inference blueprint and ongoing packaging talks with hyperscalers spotlight product partnerships that can translate into design and packaging revenue streams. SambaNova and Intel Announce Blueprint for Heterogeneous Inference
• Neutral Sentiment: Intel is reportedly in advanced discussions to provide advanced packaging services to Google and Amazon — a meaningful new customer channel, but one that depends on contract terms and timing. Intel Soars as it Confers With Big Names on Chip Packaging
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn of funding, execution and valuation risks tied to Terafab (big capital requirements and a long timeline), which could temper the upside if project economics or funding sources are unclear. Intel stock soars 9% after joining Musk’s Terafab, Wedbush flags funding risks
• Negative Sentiment: Some market participants urge profit‑taking and caution the rally may be sentiment‑driven; Seeking Alpha and other analysts point to potential “catches” in the Terafab story and stretched near‑term valuation. Intel: Terafab’s Hidden Catch

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in INTC. Financially Speaking Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Financially Speaking Inc now owns 682 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Intel during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new stake in Intel during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Intel during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Intel during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Stock Up 11.4%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64. The firm has a market cap of $294.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -736.78, a P/E/G ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.02.

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

Intel Company Profile

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.