Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Raised to Buy at Citic Securities

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citic Securities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a $60.30 price objective on the chip maker’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $38.90. Citic Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 37.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on INTC. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Intel from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Intel from $41.10 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Intel from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Northland Securities set a $54.00 target price on shares of Intel in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $45.20.

Intel Stock Up 3.4%

Intel stock opened at $43.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -549.06, a P/E/G ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Intel has a twelve month low of $17.67 and a twelve month high of $54.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.36.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Intel’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts expect that Intel will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Zinsner bought 5,882 shares of Intel stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.50 per share, with a total value of $249,985.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 247,392 shares in the company, valued at $10,514,160. This represents a 2.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intel during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,579,378,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Intel by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 86,503,121 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $2,902,180,000 after purchasing an additional 21,230,715 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intel by 210.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,498,219 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $346,230,000 after purchasing an additional 10,514,007 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 18.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 55,521,741 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $1,862,755,000 after buying an additional 8,569,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Intel by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 385,903,735 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $8,644,244,000 after buying an additional 8,513,298 shares during the last quarter. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: EVP David Zinsner purchased 5,882 shares at ~$42.50, signaling management confidence and giving traders a buy signal. Insider Purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support & upgrades: Several firms raised targets or reiterated conviction (New Street raised target to $50; Citic upgraded to Buy with a $60.30 target), helping to attract value buyers after the recent sell-off. New Street Target Citic Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bull case highlighted: Coverage noting that Q4 beat fundamentals and that supply-driven revenue weakness is temporary has encouraged some investors to buy the pullback. MarketBeat Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Employee benefit & government tie: Intel will match a $1,000 government contribution to employees’ children — a PR/employee-positive item but with limited direct market impact. CNBC Article
• Neutral Sentiment: AI ecosystem news: New sovereign AI models (e.g., MBZUAI’s K2 Think V2) and broader AI hardware competition keep the sector active but don’t directly change Intel’s near-term revenue picture. PYMNTS Article
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance & supply constraints: The key market driver remains weak Q1 guidance and management’s disclosure that inventory was depleted and manufacturing yields on advanced nodes are still ramping — the reason for last week’s violent sell-off. That guidance shortfall is the principal negative catalyst. Fool Explainer
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary & downside scenarios: Multiple analysts and commentary pieces question Intel’s execution, valuation and foundry competitiveness (some ask whether shares could fall toward $30), keeping downside risk elevated until silicon yields and capacity improve. Forbes Article
• Negative Sentiment: Sell ratings and audit/accounting risk: A DZ Bank “sell” reaffirmation and flagged accounting/auditor disputes add caution around near-term sentiment and credibility. MarketScreener DZ Bank TipRanks Risk Note

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.