Of all the things chip stock Intel (INTC) did not need in the midst of its attempt to win back market share from competitors, losing a major figure in its design operations was probably around the top of the list. But that is what happened at Intel recently, and investors did not take it well. In fact, Intel shares slid modestly in Thursday afternoon’s trading as a result.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
So who did Intel lose, and where did he go? Intel lost Rob Bruckner, a design pro who had been with Intel for fully 25 years. Bruckner will be going to Dell Technologies (DELL) instead, to head up its commercial PC business.
This is a particular blow to Intel, as Bruckner had only recently been promoted to lead the Platform Engineering Group at Intel. He was a direct report to Lip-Bu Tan. Now, the Platform Engineering Group will be combined with the Silicon Engineering Group, all of which will be headed by Mike Hurley. Tan himself offered some explanation on the groups’ merging, saying, “Those two teams already work closely together, and this change creates an opportunity for us to further strengthen our collaboration by bringing the teams together under a single leader.”
Overseas Price Hikes
While Intel tried to shrug off the loss of a major part of its design operations, it also launched a move that might seem a little desperate in isolation. New reports note that Intel has been quietly raising prices on several different older-model desktop processors, particularly “…budget and mid-range chips that are popular among consumers.”
Price hikes range from a simple 5% price hike on the Core i7 and Core i9 lineup to as much as 20% on the Core i5-14400 in Japan. The price hike actually comes right at the same time as Intel’s release of the Arrow Lake lineup. This is, perhaps, a way to get buyers to pivot away from the budget and midrange models to instead buy in on the more powerful and newer options.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on two Buys, 25 Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 65.55% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $28.02 per share implies 23.84% downside risk.
