Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Trading Up 5.7% – Here’s Why

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s share price shot up 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $46.60 and last traded at $46.12. 98,185,027 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 123,285,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.63.

Key Stories Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel joined a >$350M funding round for SambaNova and announced a multiyear technical collaboration to deploy SambaNova systems with Intel servers/GPUs — a direct push into the fast‑growing AI inference market that investors view as a strategic growth catalyst. Intel partners with AI chip startup SambaNova after acquisition talks reportedly failed
• Positive Sentiment: SambaNova unveiled its new SN50 AI chip, which the company says outperforms competing GPUs for agentic AI workloads; Intel’s partnership gives it exposure to that performance narrative and potential product wins for cloud customers. SambaNova Unveils Fastest Chip for Agentic AI, Collaborates with Intel, and Raises $350M+
• Neutral Sentiment: The deal looks more like an investment/partnership after earlier reported acquisition talks reportedly fell apart — this reduces near‑term M&A uncertainty but leaves questions about long‑term integration and economics. Intel (INTC) Stock: Invests in SambaNova’s $350M Round After Buyout Talks Fell Apart
• Negative Sentiment: Governance concerns: Intel’s CEO, Lip‑Bu Tan, is an investor and longtime chairman of SambaNova — coverage highlights potential conflicts of interest that could attract regulatory or shareholder scrutiny. Intel Strikes Deal With a Chip Start‑Up Its C.E.O. Invested In
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and product risks remain: Nvidia and AMD continue to secure large cloud/data‑center deals (e.g., Meta), and Intel has recent product timing issues (Nova Lake delays) that could limit near‑term share gains despite the SambaNova tie‑up. “Unearthing Rationality”: Intel Stock (NASDAQ:INTC) Dips as Nova Lake Gets Delayed

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on INTC. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Intel in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Intel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Intel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Intel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Intel from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intel has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $45.74.

Intel Trading Up 5.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.81. The company has a market cap of $230.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -576.43, a P/E/G ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NASDAQ:INTC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Intel’s revenue 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 Corporation will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Zinsner bought 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.50 per share, with a total value of $249,985.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 247,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,514,160. This trade represents a 2.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of Intel stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $981,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 113,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,545,593. The trade was a 15.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Intel by 271.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 34,201 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 25,001 shares in the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new stake in Intel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $205,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Intel by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,432 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 47.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,406,009 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $31,492,000 after acquiring an additional 452,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Intel by 26.8% in the second quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,285,614 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $28,813,000 after acquiring an additional 271,816 shares in the last quarter. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.