Back in October, we found out about the possibility that chip stock Intel (INTC) was in line to get a new head of research and development (R&D), Wei-Jen Lo. Further reports suggest that Lo may actually already be in Intel’s employ, and he may have taken some key documents with him when he left. The news left investors cautious, as shares slipped fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The reports suggest that Lo may have joined Intel back in October after all, and before he left Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSM), he may have taken with him some critical documents about the 2nm process. He may also have taken documents, and briefings, about the A16 and A14 processes.
This is not sitting well with Taiwan Semiconductor, the reports noted, which is actually investigating the reports itself, and may be preparing to take action. Further, Lo may find himself having issues with some national security laws. Nothing has happened around this yet, and the reports may ultimately fizzle out. But if the reports turn out to mirror reality, this would be the second major leak that Taiwan Semiconductor has seen in the last few months.
Panther Lake Pickup
A bit of good news—at least news that is clearly good—also came out, with reports that the Panther Lake line of chips will represent an improvement over the Arrow Lake lineup. The improvement is described as “modest,” but that falls under the category of “better than nothing.”
Recent testing notes that the Core Ultra X7 358H processor offers up four P-Cores, eight E-Cores, four LPE-Cores and 12 Xe3 Cores. The Arrow Lake Core Ultra 7 255H, meanwhile, offers six P-Cores, eight E-Cores, and two LPE-Cores. The end result is a slight loss in single-core score testing—about 1.4% less—but multicore score is up 4% over the Arrow Lake version.
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 43.43% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $35.44 per share implies 2.34% upside potential.
