It has been a while since we got unalloyed good news about chip stock Intel (INTC), but today may have done the job. Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya, who has a five-star rating on TipRanks, looks for Intel to do some big things down the line now that Lip-Bu Tan is in the CEO slot. But Arya’s caveat revamp “mission-critical systems.” This move proved welcome to investors, who sent Intel shares up nearly 2.5% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
Arya had a fairly bright outlook thanks to the addition of Lip-Bu Tan to the roster, declaring that he thought “…Intel has a much better shot of remaining viable in this industry…” with him at the helm. But Arya’s remarks did not come without caveat. He pointed out that Intel these days has no shortage of competitors, and Intel will have to fight its way back from where it was previously. A full recovery at Intel will likely take years, and is far from assured.
Arya looks for Lip-Bu Tan to consider taking on partners to help fuel Intel’s ambitions of foundry success, and also noted that Intel stock was “too cheap” based on the extent of its intellectual property holdings alone. That was enough for Arya to push Intel’s rating up to Neutral. His price target, meanwhile, currently sits at $25 per share.
Gelsinger Finds Religion, Sort Of
Meanwhile, Intel’s former CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has a new gig with Gloo, a Colorado-based operation that connects Christian and other faith groups with higher-end technology, including artificial intelligence. In fact, Gelsinger will be working with Gloo to develop a line of virtual assistants, as well as chatbots, for the company to offer up.
Gelsinger has been Christian all his life, reports note, so the fit is surprisingly organic. And with Gloo itself raising $110 million last year on its plans to build AI tools, including “safe search” options and Bible-based answers to questions, the end result might be a tailor-made niche solution in AI applications.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 27 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 41.59% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $23 per share implies 5.19% downside risk.
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