Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) were down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $42.88 and last traded at $44.11. Approximately 90,028,950 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 125,949,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.62.

Key Headlines Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NVIDIA’s large Q4 stake in Intel and a reported multi?billion dollar investment reinforce a strategic partnership (NVIDIA sees Intel as a key partner for x86 CPUs in AI/data?center builds), which supports Intel’s long?term narrative and likely underpins some investor interest. NVIDIA’s 13F Bombshell
• Positive Sentiment: Intel is publicly committing to India with capacity and partnership plans — a long?term geographic expansion that could diversify fabs/customers and support future revenue growth. Intel in India for the “Long Haul”
• Neutral Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “Neutral” rating, reflecting mixed analyst views — some see upside from execution, others are cautious on margins and cadence. Bernstein Reaffirms Neutral
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector headwinds: hotter-than-expected core PCE and some AI?related “exhaustion” are weighing on chip stocks broadly, creating short?term pressure even on names with positive catalysts. Chips Look Soft Early Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about Intel’s heavy turnaround and foundry spending persists — analysts and traders point to near?term profitability and cash?flow drag, which can amplify downside on risk?off days. Intel shares fall amid pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: reports that NVIDIA and Meta are expanding CPU/data?center partnerships raise fears of tougher competition and incremental pressure on Intel’s data?center roadmap and pricing power. Intel stock drops as Nvidia?Meta deal emerges
• Negative Sentiment: Execution scrutiny: recent analysis argues Intel’s CPU comeback depends on flawless execution — any delays or margin misses would keep sentiment muted. CPU comeback execution reality check
• Negative Sentiment: ETF and peer dynamics: some sector ETFs and smaller-cap peers have surged on AI wins (e.g., HBM4 wins for Samsung), leaving Intel relatively underweight in certain momentum plays and cited as a lag within equal?weight semiconductor funds. XSD ETF Pops but Has an Intel Problem

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Intel from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Intel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group set a $51.00 price target on Intel in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Intel from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intel presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $45.74.

Intel Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $220.33 billion, a PE ratio of -551.31, a P/E/G ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Intel has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intel news, EVP David Zinsner acquired 5,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,985.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Boise April Miller sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 113,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,545,593. The trade was a 15.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intel

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INTC. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Intel by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 966 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,967 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intel by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 10,788 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intel by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Intel by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,340 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.