Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Stock Price Up 6.5% - Is It Still a Buy?

Recently, shares of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) experienced a notable increase of 6.5% during trading on Friday. The stock reached a high of $21.54 before closing at $20.95. A significant number of approximately 74,572,966 shares were traded, marking a 32% increase from the average daily trading volume of 56,635,734 shares. The previous closing price was $19.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Intel has been reviewed by various research firms lately. On October 17, Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target for Intel from $22.00 to $21.00 and assigned a "sell" rating. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on November 1. On the same day, Robert W. Baird raised their price target from $20.00 to $25.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating. Meanwhile, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "sell" rating with a price target of $17.00 on October 29. Bank of America also reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on December 3. In summary, while six analysts recommend selling, twenty-five have a hold rating, and only one has suggested buying, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $29.88, according to MarketBeat.

Intel Price Performance

Intel's current market capitalization stands at $91.80 billion. The stock has a P/E ratio of -5.71 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.53, with a beta of 1.07. As of now, Intel has a fifty-day simple moving average of $21.78 and a combined 200-day simple moving average of $23.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

In their last quarterly earnings report, declared on October 31, Intel reported earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.46), falling short of the expected EPS of ($0.02) by ($0.44). In terms of revenue, Intel reported $13.30 billion for the quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $13.02 billion. However, this was a 6.3% decline from the same quarter last year when the company posted an EPS of $0.28. Analysts project Intel's EPS to be -0.87 for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Intel

Regarding insider trading, on November 7, EVP Michelle Johnston Holthaus sold 25,000 shares of Intel at an average price of $26.00, resulting in a transaction value of $650,000. Following this sale, she now owns 273,258 shares valued at about $7,104,708, indicating an 8.38% reduction in her stake. This transaction was disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Company insiders are reported to hold 0.04% of Intel's stock.

Institutional Trading of Intel

Several hedge funds have either increased or decreased their positions in Intel. In the fourth quarter, Finley Financial LLC initiated a new position valued at about $25,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC also bought new shares during the second quarter worth around $27,000. Quest Partners LLC significantly increased its holdings by 7,370.6% in the third quarter, acquiring an additional 1,253 shares, bringing their total to 1,270 shares valued at $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC invested in Intel in the fourth quarter with a new stake valued at approximately $31,000. Groupama Asset Management enhanced their position by 6.3% in the third quarter and now owns 137,181 shares valued at $32,000. Overall, institutional investors hold 64.53% of Intel's stock.

About Intel

Intel Corporation is involved in designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling computing and related products globally. The company operates through several segments, including Client Computing Group, Data Center and AI, Network and Edge, Mobileye, and Intel Foundry Services. Its portfolio includes processors, chipsets, GPUs, accelerators, FPGA products, memory and storage solutions, and various other semiconductor offerings.

Conclusion

Investment in Intel shares should be considered carefully as multiple analysts suggest a cautious approach. While the recent rise in stock price may seem appealing, analysts have mixed reviews and suggest a more conservative strategy regarding future investments in this tech giant.

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