TLDR
- Intel stock is up 69% year-to-date in 2026, and has more than tripled over the past 12 months.
- Its best one-week percentage gain since 2000 was driven by a string of major partnership announcements.
- Intel has joined Tesla and SpaceX’s Terafab chip projects and deepened a multiyear AI collaboration with Google.
- Benchmark Research raised its price target to $76, citing CPU strength and 18A manufacturing potential.
- Northland raised its target even higher to $92, pointing to Intel’s strategic importance as one of only three remaining leading-edge logic chipmakers globally.
Intel has been on a tear. The semiconductor company’s stock is up 69% in 2026 alone and has more than tripled over the past 12 months — a run few expected from a company that spent years losing ground to rivals.
Last week delivered Intel’s best one-week percentage gain since 2000, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That kind of move grabs attention.
The catalyst was a cluster of announcements that landed in quick succession. Intel confirmed it has joined Tesla and SpaceX’s Terafab chip-building initiative, deepened a multiyear collaboration with Google on AI-focused CPUs, and said it is buying back full control of its chip factory in Ireland.
Each piece of news on its own would have moved the stock. Together, they shifted the narrative around Intel in a meaningful way.
Analysts Lift Price Targets
Benchmark Research analyst Cody Acree raised his price target on Intel from $57 to $76, keeping a Buy rating. He said the higher target reflects “a more constructive view of Intel’s medium-term earnings power” as confidence grows in the durability of its CPU business.
Acree pointed to the Google deal as cementing Intel’s place in the AI story. The Tesla partnership, while still light on details, signals potential for Intel’s chip manufacturing arm to gain new outside customers.
The key thesis from Benchmark: look past the near term. Intel’s 18A manufacturing process — its most advanced chip-making technology — is already in real volume production, Acree noted, and outside partners may be growing more confident in Intel’s execution.
Northland went further. Analyst Gus Richard raised his target from $54 to $92, maintaining an Outperform rating. His argument centres on Intel’s strategic value as one of just three remaining leading-edge logic chipmakers in the world.
The Bigger Picture on Geopolitics and Supply
Richard flagged a factor that goes beyond quarterly numbers. With Taiwan at risk of potential reunification with China, access to TSMC — the world’s dominant chip manufacturer — could become restricted. That makes Intel’s domestic U.S. manufacturing capacity more geopolitically valuable.
Intel’s deals with the U.S. government, Nvidia, Tesla, and Google all reinforce this point, Richard said.
Despite the rally, questions remain. Intel currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of around 94 times — compared to around 21 times for Nvidia. The valuation assumes a lot of future earnings growth that hasn’t arrived yet.
A $5 billion Nvidia investment had raised hopes of a major chip manufacturing contract, but no commitment has been announced. Benchmark’s Acree noted that Intel’s Terafab involvement could improve its chances of landing a large foundry customer.
Intel was trading at $62.09 in premarket on Monday, slightly lower on the session, but well above where it started the year.
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