EU and US could reach trade deal this weekend - Reuters
Investing.com - BofA Securities raised its price target on Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) to $25.00 from $23.00 while maintaining a Neutral rating ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report scheduled for July 24. The semiconductor giant, currently trading at $23.51 with a market capitalization of $102.6 billion, has shown mixed signals according to InvestingPro data.
The firm expects Intel’s second-quarter CPU performance to be in-line to better than expected, potentially benefiting from tariff-related pull-ins. While the company generated $53 billion in revenue over the last twelve months, BofA noted that enterprise tone has been generally positive, with HPE enterprise business growing double-digits year-over-year.
Despite the potential near-term strength, BofA anticipates a more challenging second half of 2024 as tariff and product mix benefits reverse. With current gross margins at 33.12%, the firm highlighted that PC unit expectations remain above seasonal levels, with projections of 200 basis points in Q3 and 500 basis points in Q4.
BofA Securities pointed out that Intel’s new Panther Lake products are not expected to volume ramp until 2026, which could impact the company’s product roadmap. The firm believes Intel’s gross margin recovery depends significantly on the timing of Panther Lake (PC) and Clearwater Forest (server) product ramps.
If Intel manages to launch Panther Lake on schedule in late 2025, BofA expects gross margins could recover more quickly to 38-39% versus the current consensus of 37-38% for the second half of the year. For deeper insights into Intel’s valuation and financial health metrics, including exclusive Fair Value analysis and 12+ additional ProTips, check out the comprehensive research available on InvestingPro.
In other recent news, Intel is preparing to report its quarterly earnings, marking CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s second earnings call and first full-quarter results since joining the company. Stifel has raised its price target for Intel to $24.50 from $21.00 while maintaining a Hold rating, ahead of this earnings announcement. Additionally, Intel Labs, in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science, has made a breakthrough in artificial intelligence by developing a method that significantly speeds up large language models without compromising quality. This advancement was showcased at the International Conference on Machine Learning.
Furthermore, RealSense has successfully completed its spinout from Intel and has secured $50 million in funding to expand its operations in the robotics sector. In a related development, Intel Overseas Funding Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel, announced the pricing of a secondary public offering for Mobileye Global (NASDAQ:MBLY) Inc. at $16.50 per share. This offering involves the sale of 50 million shares of Mobileye’s Class A common stock, with an option for underwriters to purchase additional shares. These recent developments highlight Intel’s ongoing strategic moves in various technological and financial areas.
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