Chip stock Intel (INTC) is a company in flux these days. With huge job cuts and changes to its product mix, the Intel of today is quite a bit different from the Intel it was even six months ago. But not everyone is so convinced that Intel can pull off this major change, particularly analysts at Citi. That pessimism was catching, and investors caught it, sending Intel shares down nearly 3% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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Citi saw much the same things we have of late, including the recent interest Intel is drawing from businesses interested in its advanced packaging systems. But this interest is not yet translating into contracts, and payments, and Citi analysts look for that to remain the case. Citi points out that Intel has several major technical challenges to overcome, and is behind its competitors in several fields.
Even the deals that look plausible, like the recent interest from Qualcomm (QCOM) that would bring in Intel systems for Qualcomm’s data center ASIC operations, would likely be small. In fact, Citi figures that less than 1% of Qualcomm’s sales would have a connection to Intel, which would not exactly launch Intel back to its prime.
Planning for CES
Yes, that is correct; the Consumer Electronics Show is a little under two months away, and Intel is already planning what it will have on display therein. At the 2026 CES, Intel will officially debut its Panther Lake lineup, reports note.
The Panther Lake lineup is Intel’s consumer-facing operation, which means laptops and other devices will be front and center. There is a lot riding on Panther Lake, and the good news is that it should have several exciting new features, including new P/E-core architectures, a new fifth-generation NPU, and the Xe3 iGPU, or Celestial, architecture.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on three Buys, 24 Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 43.66% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $35.44 per share implies 3.44% upside potential.
