Intel (INTC) stock has gone on a stellar run in the past year, rallying over 130% in that span. YTD, INTC is already up 35%, setting the stage for an even further bull run. Analysts are awaiting the chipmaker’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Thursday, which could provide an even further boost to the company’s stock value and market cap.
Ahead of this report, an analyst at Seaport Research upgraded Intel shares to a buy rating. Further, the firm revealed a $65 price target for INTC, a roughly 31% climb from the stock’s current price. Per Searport researchers, the company’s new Panther Lakes products should drive improvement for Intel Products in the near-term, and the company should be able to retake share this year in enterprise and consumer products.
At the CES show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Intel launched Panther Lake, its new laptop chip, as the first high-volume product made using its 18A process. Its successful partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) has also turned heads on Wall Street, with several top firms like Seaport raising their INTC forecasts for the near future. The announcement solidified INTC as a top dog in AI in 2026, and a strong competitor against the likes of AI darlings NVDA and AMD.
Other Bullish Intel Forecasts Emerge
In addition to Seaport Research, analysts at HSBC also upgraded Intel (INTC) to Hold from Reduce with a price target of $50, up from $26. The research firm had previously maintained a cautious stance on Intel due to uncertainty regarding the customer pipeline and execution challenges in the foundry business, while noting the core business lacked clear growth drivers. HSBC now anticipates Intel’s traditional server segment (DCAI) will return to a growth trajectory, driven by increasing demand for server CPUs from rising agentic AI applications. This potential growth comes as Intel prepares to report earnings in just 2 days, on January 22.
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Elsewhere on Wall Street, Jefferies has increased its price target for Intel (INTC) from $40 to $45, maintaining a Hold rating, citing stronger server demand expected by 2026, although Intel faces supply constraints. UBS has also raised its price target for Intel to $49 from $40, maintaining a Neutral rating, due to tight supply conditions and anticipated strong demand for PCs and servers. RBC Capital initiated coverage on Intel with a Sector Perform rating and a $50 price target, highlighting Intel’s recent strategic moves, including its Nvidia deal.
Intel and Nvidia agreed to a deal that will see the two link architectures using NVIDIA NVLink — integrating the strengths of NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing with Intel’s leading CPU technologies and x86 ecosystem to deliver cutting-edge solutions for customers. NVIDIA’s $5B stake purchase also represents a roughly 4% stake in Intel and brings recent outside investment in the latter to $16 billion.