TLDR
- Intel stock rose more than 3% in premarket trading to $100.38 after Reuters reported exploratory talks with SK Hynix over a potential deal at Intel’s Ohio facility.
- SK Hynix could lease part of the Ohio site or form a joint venture with Intel and major cloud firms.
- Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes said $200 is still “on the table” for Intel over the next two years, with a current price target of $165.
- Memory stocks Micron, SanDisk, and SK Hynix also rose in premarket trading as AI-driven memory demand remains tight.
- SK Hynix CEO warned 2027 could be “the worst year in the industry’s history from the supply perspective.”
Intel stock jumped more than 3% in premarket trading Wednesday, reaching $100.38, after Reuters reported the chipmaker is in exploratory talks with South Korean memory giant SK Hynix over a potential deal at Intel’s long-delayed Ohio facility. That move comes off a Tuesday close of $97.14.
The report says SK Hynix could either lease part of the Ohio site or form a joint venture with Intel and major cloud firms. Talks are still early, and opposition from the South Korean government remains a potential obstacle.
Intel and SK Hynix did not respond to requests for comment.
SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts also rose 3.3% on the news. Memory stocks Micron and SanDisk moved higher in premarket trading as well, with Wall Street pointing to tight supply and rising AI data-center demand as the backdrop.
The potential tie-up would give Intel a foothold back in memory chips, a market it exited in 2020 when it sold its flash-memory business to SK Hynix. It would also give SK Hynix its first memory production presence in the United States.
The deal fits neatly into the Trump administration’s push to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Analyst Sees Path to $200
Beyond the SK Hynix news, Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes added to the bullish case Wednesday. He said $200 remains “on the table” for Intel over the next two years, using a sum-of-the-parts model.
Reitzes wrote that Intel’s chip foundry is “critical to U.S. national security” and could be spun out by 2030. He argued Intel has “two distinct assets here that each could be worth well over $80,” referring to the foundry and its CPU business.
His current price target sits at $165, implying around 70% upside from Tuesday’s close. He rates INTC a Buy.
The broader Wall Street view is more cautious. TipRanks data shows INTC has a Hold consensus, with seven Buys, 34 Holds, and two Sells over the past three months. The average price target is $117.56, implying about 21% upside from current levels.
Technical indicators offer a mixed picture. INTC has a Buy signal on the one-week timeframe, with moving averages pointing to a Strong Buy. The 14-day RSI sits at 54.43, a neutral reading. The Rate of Change indicator is negative, suggesting some downward price momentum in the near term.
Memory Supply Crunch Adds Context
The SK Hynix talks come as the memory sector faces a supply crunch that goes beyond AI data centers. Smaller phone and laptop makers are also struggling to secure enough memory, according to Reuters, which expects the shortage to last through 2027.
SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung warned that demand could exceed capacity beyond 2030.
Micron’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on September 30 will be the next major test for the memory sector. Wall Street expects around $31.14 in EPS and $50.41 billion in revenue. TD Cowen’s Krish Sankar has a Buy rating on MU with a $1,600 price target. Goldman Sachs maintains a Hold with a $1,100 target, but still expects “another strong quarter.”
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