Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Trading Up 23.3% on Strong Earnings

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shot up 23.3% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $85.22 and last traded at $82.3710. 279,431,721 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 151% from the average session volume of 111,540,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.78.

The chip maker reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $13.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.32 billion. Intel had a negative net margin of 5.90% and a positive return on equity of 0.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Intel has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS.

Intel News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — Intel reported revenue and EPS above Street forecasts and gave Q2 revenue guidance well above consensus, a direct catalyst for the rally. Intel forecasts second-quarter revenue above estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: AI/data-center demand is driving durable revenue growth — Management cited “unprecedented” CPU demand for AI workloads and expanding data-center sales, which improves near-term revenue visibility and margins. Unprecedented demand has Intel stock soaring (Investopedia)
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla/14A foundry momentum — Tesla signaled it will use Intel’s 14A process for its Terafab AI chips, validating Intel’s foundry progress and adding a high‑profile customer to the pipeline. Elon Musk lays out Terafab AI chip project plan (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street re-rates the story — Multiple firms raised price targets and upgraded ratings after the quarter, adding buying pressure and supporting higher valuation expectations. Citi and Evercore pile into Intel with huge price target hikes (247WallSt)
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Intel’s CFO (Dave Zinsner) has taken on the principal accounting officer role in addition to CFO duties; this is an internal organization change investors should note but it’s not an immediate financial catalyst. Intel CFO assumes additional role as principal accounting officer (TipRanks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest ticked up — Short interest rose ~20.9% in mid‑April to ~144M shares (≈2.9% of float); the short‑interest ratio remains low (~1.2 days), so it’s a data point on positioning rather than an immediate squeeze signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking/valuation risk — After a massive rally and fresh all‑time highs, analysts and market commentators caution the move may be stretched and vulnerable to a pullback; several firms still carry neutral/underperform views despite higher targets. Intel is breaking 2000s high: time to be careful (MarketBeat)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

INTC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KGI Securities downgraded Intel from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. HSBC raised Intel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank raised Intel from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $51.00 target price on Intel in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Intel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Zinsner acquired 5,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,514,160. This trade represents a 2.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $981,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 113,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,545,593. This represents a 15.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financially Speaking Inc boosted its holdings in Intel by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Financially Speaking Inc now owns 682 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Intel during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Intel during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in Intel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Intel in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Stock Up 23.3%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.32. 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 company has a market cap of $411.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.35.

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.