Sometimes, it’s hard to tell what shareholders actually expect out of a company. Chip stock Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) revealed that it’s got a huge new customer. A major boost to cash flow like that should have been enough to send shares soaring. In fact, they fell over 3% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading instead. Intel’s big new customer is none other than Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), who is looking for a new set of chips that it wants Intel’s contract foundries to make.
While it’s not clear just what chip Microsoft is looking for Intel to make, Microsoft has made no secret out of looking for new chip suppliers to reduce its reliance on Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). If Intel can match the quality of Nvidia’s chips, it could give Intel a lot of extra credibility since Microsoft needs some particularly potent chips, particularly for its latest push into AI.
Several Positive Developments Afoot
That’s not even the limit of good news for Intel. Reports note that it could be in line for $10 billion in incentives from the Chips Act to help drive semiconductor manufacturing on American soil. Plus, Intel also announced a new set of chips coming soon, including the 14A, which will serve as the smallest node that Intel has ever created. It’s also got a follow-up planned for the 18A, which is known as the 18A-P. Both of these should prove impressive in their own right, even as Intel is keeping details about the new processors kind of quiet for the time being.
Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on eight Buys, 24 Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 71.74% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $46.69 per share implies 7.95% upside potential.
