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Investing.com - Erste Group upgraded ASML Inc. (NASDAQ:ASML) from Hold to Buy on Monday, citing the company’s monopoly position in advanced lithography systems. The upgrade comes as Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), a key industry player with a market cap of $137.6 billion, has shown remarkable momentum with a 19.4% gain in the past week.
The research firm highlighted ASML’s recent investment in French AI startup Mistral as a strategic move that could diversify revenue streams and enhance profitability for the semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
Erste Group also noted that ASML shares have recently gained from NVIDIA’s announced stake acquisition in Intel, creating a potentially favorable outlook for ASML’s business prospects.
The firm explained that NVIDIA’s investment in Intel is positive for Intel’s foundational business, which could subsequently benefit ASML as a supplier.
According to Erste Group, this development might lead to increased future orders as "the Group could increasingly supply Intel with machines in the future."
In other recent news, Intel Corporation has announced a strategic collaboration with Nvidia to develop custom data center and personal computing products. This partnership focuses on integrating Nvidia’s accelerated computing and AI stack with Intel’s x86 CPU architecture. Barclays has responded by raising its price target for Intel to $25.00, up from $19.00, while maintaining an Equalweight rating, citing expanded data center opportunities. Baird also views the Nvidia partnership as a positive catalyst, predicting potential market share gains and foundry revenue growth for Intel.
In terms of analyst ratings, Wedbush has upgraded Intel’s outlook, emphasizing its potential role in the expanding AI infrastructure market. Meanwhile, Stifel has maintained a Hold rating on Intel with a $24.50 price target. Additionally, Bank of America has downgraded Intel’s long-dated bonds from Overweight to Marketweight due to recent price appreciation. These developments reflect a mix of strategic partnerships and varied analyst perspectives on Intel’s future prospects.
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