Were you expecting chip stock Intel (INTC) to spin off its foundry business? Were you expecting it sometime soon? Well, new reports from uncredited Bank of America (BAC) analysts are suggesting that such a spin-off may not happen soon. In fact, that spin-off may not happen in the next five years. The news proved oddly encouraging to Intel investors, as shares gained over 2% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The analysts at Bank of America noted that Intel has recently bolstered its balance sheet in several different directions. There was a big investment from SoftBank (SFTBY), and the United States government threw in as well, using CHIPS Act money as an equity stake. Intel also started beating the bushes and seeing if it could find other investors willing to buy in big for a bit of a discount.
Take all that together, the analysts noted, and the end result is that Intel really does not need to spin off its foundry operations any time soon. The balance sheet is looking a lot healthier than it was, so Intel has bought itself time to reconsider its next moves. However, the report noted that Intel may choose to sell off a “…large minority stake” to further bolster its cash position.
Free Copy of Battlefield 6 With Purchase
For the gamers out there, meanwhile, Intel has an exciting proposition for you. Intel is currently running its Gamer Days event, where it calls attention to its processors with big deals. In fact, one such processor, the Core i5-14600K, is on sale for $149.99 in some places with a promo code.
And, just to sweeten the deal, it even comes with a Gamer Days Bundle, adding a copy of Battlefield 6 to your purchase. That by itself reportedly puts the value up to $194.98. Throw in the fact that the i5-14600K has been seen outperforming some newer-model chips, and that makes for a very attractive prospect. That is the kind of thing Intel needs to win back some of its lost market share.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 26 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.17% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $22.34 per share implies 9.92% downside risk.
