Chip sector weakens as brokers lift Intel price targets
The strong report came as the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX fell 3% on the session, with 27 of 30 components seeing red.
At least three brokerages raised price targets on the stock, with the steepest being J.P. Morgan's hike to $85 from $45.
Brokerage Morningstar said Intel's success comes from soaring demand for server CPUs to power agentic AI, with the company's data center and AI revenue growing 59% in Q2 year over year.
Morningstar raised its fair value estimate to $105, driven by a stronger near- and long-term outlook for the server CPU market, with Intel benefiting from rising AI-driven demand.
Thirteen of 48 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 32 rate it "hold" and three rate it "sell"; the median price target is $110.
Intel stock is now up about 160% year to date, compared with about a 69% increase in the SOX.
Intel shares reverse premarket gains after strong forecast
Intel's INTC.O shares reversed premarket gains, last down 4.2% at $96.02 on Friday after the company forecast Q3 profit well ahead of estimates.
Intel late Thursday said it expects Q3 adjusted EPS of 38 cents versus Wall Street expectations of 27 cents; the midpoint of its Q3 revenue projection of $15.8 billion-$16.8 billion is higher than analysts' average estimate of $15.10 billion, according to LSEG data.
Q2 top- and bottom-line results also topped estimates.
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