Chip stock Intel (INTC) has been on the ropes for a while now, but there are some signs it may be planning to fight back. In fact, a look at the balance sheet suggests that there could be something truly impressive brewing that will make its appearance next year, and it is all about a key asset. The news is lighting a fire under Intel shares, sending them up over 2.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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The newest reports that took a look at Intel’s balance sheet at one number in particular: Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E). For the last three years, Intel’s spending on PP&E has been lower than that of one of its biggest competitors in the foundry space: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM). But, with this year, those rankings actually shifted position, and Intel has taken back the PP&E crown that it held, reliably, from at least 2016 to somewhere around 2021.
This by itself is reason enough to take notice. However, it is not the only reason to take notice. Intel did this at a time when its revenues were in open decline. And, it is also worth considering that Intel is actively using Taiwan Semiconductor to make several of its own chips, including the Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake line. Thus, we may see something big come out in 2025, as Intel puts all that new PP&E to work.
Funds Buying, CHIPS Money Waiting
Meanwhile, other events are gearing up in the background. For instance, Taiwan Semiconductor—according to a report from the Columbus Dispatch—is in line for a $6.6 billion award to be handed over before President-Elect Trump takes office. Meanwhile, Intel continues to wait for its share of that money to arrive.
However, one fund seems to be particularly behind Intel. Empowered Funds, noted a report, recently upped its stake in Intel by 21%. The total value of the Intel holdings in Empowered are now worth $10.67 million. They were not alone here, the report noted; America First Investment Advisors LLC and Spartan Fund Management are just two funds who bought in on Intel, leading to institutional investors holding about 64.53% of Intel’s stock.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 22 Holds and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 42.92% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $24.43 per share implies 0.73% downside risk.
