Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Should You Buy?

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was up 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.71 and last traded at $45.03. Approximately 77,267,511 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 110,273,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.06.

Key Stories Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel’s collaboration with Versa to run AI-powered security, networking and analytics at the intelligent edge (using Intel Xeon 6 processors) reinforces its push into edge AI and enterprise deployment channels. Versa and Intel Collaborate
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Intel’s Xeon 6 is being used as the processor inside NVIDIA DGX Rubin NVL8 systems signal Intel is winning design wins in AI infrastructure, which can translate to higher server CPU demand if adoption continues. Intel Xeon 6 in NVIDIA DGX Rubin
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage has recently highlighted Intel’s renewed AI-hardware push, which helped drive gains earlier this year as investors began to re-rate INTC on AI progress rather than legacy PC/server weakness. Intel Gains as AI Push Takes Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary and valuation debate continue: several pieces examine whether current levels reflect a durable AI-led turnaround or remain vulnerable to execution/competitive risks and mixed fundamentals. Intel Stock Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines point to a pullback driven by sector pressure, rising competition (and profit-taking after INTC’s strong run), which has pushed the stock lower amid broader semiconductor weakness. Intel Dips 5%, Sector Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports note the stock sold off despite product/gaming improvements, suggesting investors remain focused on margins, guidance clarity and competitiveness versus peers (AMD, NVIDIA, others). Intel Plunges Despite Gaming Improvement

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Intel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citic Securities upgraded Intel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $38.90 to $60.30 in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Intel from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Intel from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Intel in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intel presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $45.74.

Intel Trading Down 5.0%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $219.13 billion, a PE ratio of -548.31, a PEG ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 113,060 shares in the company, valued at $5,545,593. This trade represents a 15.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Zinsner bought 5,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.50 per share, with a total value of $249,985.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Intel during the second quarter worth $1,579,378,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Intel by 32.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 86,503,121 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $2,902,180,000 after purchasing an additional 21,230,715 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Intel by 285.9% in 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Intel by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 404,522,308 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $14,926,873,000 after purchasing an additional 13,692,624 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Intel by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 65,249,269 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $2,407,698,000 after purchasing an additional 11,056,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.