Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Price Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) traded down 3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.39 and last traded at $45.46. 70,954,113 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 120,672,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.88.

Key Intel News

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel announced a strategic collaboration with SambaNova to deliver high‑performance, cost‑efficient AI inference solutions — a tie-up that positions Intel in the fast‑growing agentic AI inference market and supports revenue upside from AI server demand. SambaNova Unveils Fastest Chip for Agentic AI, Collaborates with Intel, and Raises $350M+
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage pieces and market commentary highlight Intel’s expanded AI inference push (new partnerships and product focus), which could drive incremental market share in multibillion‑dollar AI inference markets and help monetize Intel’s foundry and data‑center investments. Intel Expands AI Inference Capabilities: Will it Drive Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Volatility in INTC has created option strategy and tactical buying interest — some market commentators view current swings as a tactical opportunity given the company’s improving fundamentals and AI exposure. Intel Stock (INTC) Volatility Creates Tactical Options Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and sector pieces note that AI‑chip and inference markets are growing rapidly — this is a tailwind for all chip suppliers (including Intel), but competition and cycle timing remain key variables for near‑term revenue. Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chips Market Outlook, Growth, Industry Trends 2026-2035
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and features (e.g., Forbes) continue to debate the primary drivers that will move INTC long term — execution on process/foundry, AI product wins and capital allocation are repeatedly cited as determinative. What Will Move The Needle For Intel Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern rose after a senior foundry executive left for Qualcomm — the departure sparked headlines and an intra‑day sell‑off as it raises questions about execution and talent retention in Intel’s foundry push. Intel Stock (NASDAQ:INTC) Plunges After Key Figure Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains cautious (consensus “Reduce” on some aggregator reports), which can cap upside as coverage and ratings influence institutional flows. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure from incumbents (notably Nvidia and others doubling down on CPUs/accelerators) is highlighted in sector coverage — investors price in tougher market share battles and margin pressure. Nvidia’s CEO prepares investors for a renewed battle with Intel, AMD

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on INTC. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Intel from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. New Street Research increased their target price on Intel from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Intel from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Intel from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Intel currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $45.74.

Intel Stock Up 0.3%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.62 and its 200 day moving average is $37.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -570.05, a P/E/G ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.38.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.37 billion. Intel had a negative return on equity of 0.44% and a negative net margin of 0.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Intel has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intel Corporation will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intel

In other news, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 113,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,545,593. This trade represents a 15.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Zinsner bought 5,882 shares of Intel stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,985.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 247,392 shares in the company, valued at $10,514,160. This represents a 2.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 2.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,332,433 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $52,246,000 after acquiring an additional 51,383 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,579,378,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in Intel by 91.8% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 765,091 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $17,138,000 after purchasing an additional 366,092 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intel by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 385,903,735 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $8,644,244,000 after buying an additional 8,513,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intel by 100.1% in the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 247,660 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after buying an additional 123,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

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.