Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Trading 3.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares were up 3.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $107.57 and last traded at $104.56. Approximately 116,194,963 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 120,806,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Foundry funding supports the turnaround case: Intel’s upsized $20 billion equity offering gives the company capital to expand manufacturing capacity and pursue AI-related growth. Bank of America maintained a Buy rating, arguing that the raise reflects confidence in Intel’s foundry opportunity, although it trimmed its price target to $145. Intel Stock Rallies as BofA Sees Upside From Foundry Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: AI and server demand are improving: Intel’s second-quarter revenue rose approximately 25% year over year to $16.1 billion, while Data Center and AI revenue reportedly increased 59%. Server chip pricing also rose sharply, strengthening expectations for continued momentum. Intel’s Best Growth in 15 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Management confidence is supporting sentiment: CEO Lip-Bu Tan and a family member agreed to purchase approximately $12 million of Intel shares in the offering, a signal that leadership sees long-term value in the AI and manufacturing strategy. Lip-Bu Tan Investing in Intel’s Offering
• Positive Sentiment: Sector-wide AI enthusiasm is helping: Strong results from AI infrastructure companies and gains across semiconductor stocks are creating a favorable read-through for Intel’s CPU, server, and foundry businesses. Why Intel Stock Popped Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential return to memory: Intel is reportedly considering re-entering the memory market and combining memory with CPUs through advanced packaging. The move could open a new revenue stream, but it would add execution and capital-allocation risk. Intel Eyes a Return to Memory
• Negative Sentiment: Equity dilution remains a major overhang: The $20 billion offering increases Intel’s share count and could reduce earnings per share by roughly 4% to 5% in the near term, even if the funds eventually improve foundry growth. Intel’s $20 Billion Raise
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and valuation could limit further gains: Qualcomm’s new threat to Intel’s laptop processor business, the company’s still-unproven foundry execution, and a sharp prior-year run leave the stock vulnerable if customer wins or profitability fail to meet elevated expectations. Intel Faces a New Qualcomm Threat

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on INTC shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Intel in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Intel from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Intel in a report on Monday, July 27th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Intel from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Intel in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.85.

Intel Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.34 and a 200 day moving average of $82.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.55 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $16.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of INTC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Intel in the fourth quarter worth about $2,233,159,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Intel by 285.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 26,619,928 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $982,279,000 after purchasing an additional 19,722,010 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Intel by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 104,060,268 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $3,839,833,000 after buying an additional 17,557,147 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Intel by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 404,522,308 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $14,926,873,000 after buying an additional 13,692,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Intel by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 65,249,269 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $2,407,698,000 after buying an additional 11,056,090 shares during the last quarter. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Intel

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.