Chip stock Intel (INTC) is in a pretty good position right now. Customers are getting on board. The foundry is starting to look like a good plan that Pat Gelsinger had before he retired as CEO back in December of 2024. And now, Intel is starting to consider its next moves, and quantum computing is a part of the package. This news was abundantly welcome to shareholders, who sent Intel shares up nearly 3% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The news for Intel is good currently, and has room to get better. This is a good position, but it can be better. And Intel is looking to make it better by lining up the next generation of Intel successes. New permanent CTO Pushkar Ranade now has a mandate to move Intel toward developments in “…quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, photonics, and novel materials.”
This mandate will likely be helpful, as Intel’s quantum group has already suffered from budget cuts and staff turnover. Now, Intel has the resources to put behind such a project, and the will to do so. The last time Intel announced a development in quantum computing was the Tunnel Falls chip back in 2023, which in computer terms is about a lifetime ago. Neuromorphic chip development, however, is considered among the best in the industry.
Open-Source Advances
Meanwhile, Intel’s open-source operations, as exemplified by the Vulkan driver for Linux systems, got a boost of their own as well. Commands generated from Vulkan devices are now merged, a development which came hot on the heels of another major move in the form of experimental support for descriptor heaps.
This is a huge step forward for Vulkan, reports note, with one report declaring it on par with ray-tracing itself. With device generated commands, DGC, systems in place, a graphics processing unit can now generate its own set of commands to be filed in command buffers directly on the device itself. The biggest beneficiary of this advance, reports note, will be Linux gaming as well as the Linux desktop ecosystem.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on 11 Buys, 23 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 432.50% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $80.16 per share implies 28.67% downside risk.
