Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Trading 5.5% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares traded up 5.5% on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $59.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Intel traded as high as $68.61 and last traded at $68.50. 107,406,681 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 109,270,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.94.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on INTC. New Street Research boosted their target price on shares of Intel from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Intel from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Intel from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Intel from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 113,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,545,593. The trade was a 15.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Zinsner bought 5,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 247,392 shares in the company, valued at $10,514,160. This trade represents a 2.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel launched its new Core Series 3 processors positioned for “everyday AI” (battery savings, student/family use) — coverage credits the product rollout with boosting investor enthusiasm. Intel Bets On ‘Everyday AI’ As New Core Series 3 Chips Aim To Save Battery Life
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised price targets (Bernstein, Mizuho, Sanford C. Bernstein coverage noted), signaling growing analyst conviction that AI/server CPU demand and the turnaround story justify higher estimates. Bernstein Nearly Doubles Intel’s Price Target to $60
• Positive Sentiment: Intel hired Shawn Han from Samsung to lead foundry services efforts — a manpower and credibility win as Intel pivots to win external foundry business. Intel hires Samsung’s Shawn Han for foundry services amid strategic pivot
• Positive Sentiment: New memos and coverage about Intel’s involvement in Terafab / Tesla-related activity have been cited as incremental strategic upside that helped sentiment during the rally. “Strategic Alliance”: New Memo About Terafab Sends Intel Stock Prompts Gains
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary flags broader market volatility ahead of earnings weeks (Intel among notable reporters), suggesting short‑term swings even if the company remains in favor. The S&P 500’s record high may be an illusion — and this rally is a warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentators including Jim Cramer have weighed in with trading advice and perspective, which can amplify intraday flows but doesn’t change fundamentals. Jim Cramer Shares Important Advice About Intel (INTC) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts and pieces warn the rally may have outpaced fundamentals: concerns include weak guidance, limited foundry customer wins to date, negative free cash flow and a stretched valuation after a rapid run. Intel’s Bullish Story Still Lacks Hard Proof
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation caution: coverage notes Intel’s huge short‑term gains have pushed multiples to levels some consider expensive, raising risk if execution or AI/server demand disappoints. Intel stock continues its surge; is valuation becoming too expensive?

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Intel by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 404,522,308 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $14,926,873,000 after acquiring an additional 13,692,624 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Intel by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,536,784 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $7,695,007,000 after acquiring an additional 5,714,400 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Intel by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 104,060,268 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $3,839,833,000 after acquiring an additional 17,557,147 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Intel by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 101,931,512 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $3,744,406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124,798 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Intel by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 65,249,269 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $2,407,698,000 after acquiring an additional 11,056,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Stock Up 5.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.60 and its 200-day moving average is $42.93. The company has a market cap of $342.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -856.14, a P/E/G ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.35.

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