Chip stock Intel (INTC) has made a lot of changes recently, and with those changes have come far-reaching impact throughout much of the world. Indeed, Europe is starting to discover how Intel’s recent cost-cutting moves have impacted its own plans for processor manufacturing, and is shifting plans accordingly. The move left Intel in a surprisingly good place with investors, as shares were up nearly 2.5% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Certainly, the loss of Intel’s planned facilities in places like Magdeburg, Germany—which was initially announced back in 2022—has come as a blow to plans to get Europe into the next generation of processor manufacture. Intel planned to make “…state-of-the-art wafers,” as well as “…use the most advanced technologies of the Intel Angstrom era in manufacturing.”
One report noted that Intel’s “…1.8-nm fab would have been in a completely different ballpark.” Given that a lot of efforts are focused on 22 nm and higher, it is clear that the future is a bit limited. However, the larger chips are still vital in a variety of fields, from automotive to healthcare. This buys Europe a bit of time, and it is already courting investment from other chipmakers to step in and help bring Europe forward.
Data Center GPUs Out
Meanwhile, two Intel chips are set for phasing out, reports noted. Intel plans to start a “slow depreciation phase” for the Arctic Sound Data Center GPU Flex series, as well as the Ponte Vecchio Data Center GPU Max. Those who currently own these chips are advised to stick with the current version of Intel XPU Manager to get the most out of the chips they currently have.
Neither chip was a particularly big seller, reports note, so the impact is likely to be comparatively light. Still, Intel is operating in a market where it needs all the market share it can get, so hopefully, Intel will have some replacement chips in mind. Maybe it will even extend some discounts to the former owners of the Ponte Vecchio and Arctic Sound.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on two Buys, 26 Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 55.16% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $27.98 per share implies 24.62% downside risk.
