TLDR
- Intel stock rose 3.8% in premarket trading Wednesday, adding to a 2.4% gain Tuesday, and is now up 200% year-to-date.
- Benchmark analyst Cody Acree raised his price target to $140 from $105, citing underestimated earnings power.
- Citi analyst Atif Malik lifted his target to $130 from $95, projecting the CPU market will grow 35% annually to $132 billion by 2030.
- Institutional investors continued buying, with 64.53% of Intel stock now held by hedge funds and asset managers.
- Intel’s Q1 2026 earnings beat estimates with $0.29 EPS vs. a $0.01 consensus, on revenue of $13.58 billion.
Intel stock hit $110.80 at the open Wednesday, a remarkable recovery for a company that was trading as low as $18.97 over the past twelve months.
The stock gained 3.8% in premarket after closing 2.4% higher on Tuesday. That ended a five-day losing streak where the stock had dropped around 16%. Before that pullback, Intel had been on a run that has now taken it up 200% for 2026.
The broader chip sector was also rising. AMD, Qualcomm, Micron, and Marvell all moved higher ahead of the open.
Intel’s market cap now sits at roughly $557 billion. The stock carries a beta of 2.18, meaning it moves more sharply than the broader market in both directions.
Analysts Raise Price Targets
Wall Street has been revising its outlook upward. Benchmark’s Cody Acree raised his price target to $140 from $105 on Monday after a fireside chat with the company. He said he’s more confident that investors are underestimating Intel’s earnings power.
Citi’s Atif Malik also raised his target to $130 from $95 this week. He kept a Buy rating and pointed to a bigger-than-expected CPU market opportunity tied to AI workloads. Malik projects server CPU demand will fuel 35% annual growth in the CPU market, reaching $132 billion by 2030.
Seaport analyst Jay Goldberg offered a more cautious take. He acknowledged that many chip names are “getting ahead of their fundamentals,” but said Intel has a real chance of growing into its current valuation.
The consensus rating among analysts tracked by MarketBeat remains Hold, with an average price target of $81.52, well below where the stock is trading.
Earnings Beat and Institutional Buying
Intel posted a strong Q1 2026. The company reported EPS of $0.29, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by a wide margin. Revenue came in at $13.58 billion, ahead of the $12.32 billion estimate. That’s 7.4% growth year-over-year.
Intel guided Q2 2026 EPS to $0.20. Analysts expect $0.63 for the full fiscal year.
Institutions have been adding to their positions. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK lifted its stake by 20% in Q4, bringing its total to 30,000 shares worth roughly $1.1 million. Legacy Bridge, Raleigh Capital, and HighMark Wealth Management also opened or expanded positions. Institutional investors now own 64.53% of the stock.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company’s foundry business is gaining traction. He pointed to improving manufacturing yields and said multiple customer commitments are expected in the second half of the year.
On the M&A front, Intel is reportedly exploring a deal involving Tenstorrent, an AI chip startup, as part of a broader effort to strengthen its position in AI hardware.
One note of caution: EVP April Miller Boise sold 40,256 shares on May 1st at an average of $99.53, reducing her ownership stake by 27.7%.
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