So it is no secret, at this point, that chip stock Intel (INTC) has been playing catch-up for a long time now. In fact, new reports emerged that suggest just how bad the picture really is for Intel right now, especially when compared to its competitors. That news did not seem to concern investors, though, as shares of Intel jumped over 3% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Granted, the numbers in question came from just one source: a German retailer known as Mindfactory. But the numbers were telling enough to prompt concern in everyone who could do simple math. The Mindfactory reports noted that Intel processors saw about 220 sales in one week. Not bad, but not especially good, either. The problem is that immediate rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) sold close to 10 times that number, shipping close to 2,260 processors in the same time frame.
In fact, the reports noted, sales of AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D alone outmass Intel’s sales of every chip by about five to one. Those two processors sold over 1,000 units in the last week, while Intel, again, only sold 220 processors period. This underscores the serious problem that Intel has right now, and that it desperately needs to overcome.
Hope for the Future
The good news, however, is that yields are on the way up and the Panther Lake line is starting to look very attractive. We heard just last week that the 18A processes are up and running, and that yields are gaining at a sufficient rate that price hikes may not be necessary.
Plus, there is further welcome news. Early benchmark testing suggests that the new processors may be somewhat limited by memory configuration, but the large cores are delivering better performance than the previous line of Intel processors. This is vital to ensuring future demand; if the performance is not there, then there is little sense in replacing or upgrading.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on three Buys, 26 Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 38.72% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $35.61 per share implies 0.35% downside risk.
