Intel stock (INTC) is up 5% this week and moved higher on Thursday thanks to an overall rebound in the tech and AI stock market. Alphabet’s announcement of its Gemini 3 AI model helped send various stocks in the sector higher on optimism about the growing AI bubble. Before this week, INTC was down nearly 8% in the past month. However, its push into advanced chip manufacturing and its ramp-up of AI-related initiatives have helped spur a rebound this week.
In addition, there is plenty of buzz this week around Intel’s graphics division. Rumors and leaks have intensified, suggesting that Intel is on the verge of launching its new flagship gaming GPU, the Arc B770, later this quarter. Wall Street is optimistic that this new product line will be more competitive than previous attempts, potentially allowing Intel to capture a larger slice of the lucrative discrete GPU market from NVIDIA and AMD.
Despite optimism around Intel’s long-term prospects, investment firms are still cautious on the stock, not blowing the bullhorn just yet. Last week, analysts at Citibank gave a sell rating to INTC and select AI stocks. The firm says it does not expect Intel’s foundry strategy to gain traction, citing industry feedback that Nvidia abandoned a packaging project with Intel due to technical issues.
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The bank went on to say that Intel remains years behind TSMC, and investors should hold on tight or sell INTC at its current peak. At press time, Intel stock is trading near the top of its 52-week range and above its 200-day simple moving average.
Furthermore, analysts surveyed by CNN appear to have changed their tune on Intel (INTC) stock. Previously, many called the stock a buy, but now have shifted to a hold rating. Out of 46 analyst ratings on CNN, only 11% rate INTC a buy, while 70% opt to hold INTC and 19% call the stock a sell.