Chip stock Intel (INTC) has had its share of good news lately, and the good news continued unabated as new signs emerged that Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL) were planning to turn to Intel for several new chip fabrication operations and advanced packaging functions. The news was abundantly welcomed by shareholders, who sent Intel stock blasting up nearly 11% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Reports note that Apple will be calling on Intel to put its 18A-P process to work for Apple’s upcoming line of “M” chips. Those chips will be put to use in client applications. Meanwhile, Google has taken an interest in putting Intel’s EMIB advanced packaging solution to work to build its TPUv8e chip.
The 18A-P process node offers an 8% improvement in performance per watt, reports note, while also keeping density levels the same as they were in the 18A process. It will be a while before either Apple or Google starts putting Intel systems to work, however. Reports suggested that those products will not start rolling off Intel lines until sometime next year. Still, the idea that Intel is pulling in big names is worthwhile to hear in and of itself.
Maybe Not That Great
We also heard yesterday about how Intel’s Wildcat Lake processors were delivering a blow against rival Apple processors, specifically the A18 Pro. But some point out that just because the Wildcat Lake processors are doing a number on A18 Pro processors, this does not mean that Intel-powered laptops are suddenly better than the MacBook Neo.
More specifically, reports point to the “…superior build quality, battery life, and streamlined macOS experience” as reasons for the MacBook Neo’s ultimate supremacy. This does require a certain allowance for taste, though; while battery life is an objective measure, build quality and how “streamlined” the macOS experience is over Windows are both anything but objective. However, most can confirm that Intel has at the very least “…responded to Apple’s threat.”
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on nine Buys, 23 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 320.5% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $77.27 per share implies 17.56% downside risk.
