What happened
While it wasn't exactly a trouncing, the stock of Intel (INTC -1.43%) topped a major equity index on Monday. The chipmaker's shares booked a 0.8% gain today, eclipsing the 0.3% rise of the S&P 500 index. Investors were encouraged by an analyst's significant price-target bump.
So what
Citigroup's Christopher Danely, a longtime Intel tracker, upped his fair price evaluation on the stock before market open.
Danely now believes the shares are worth $32, quite some distance ahead of his previous $25.50 estimation. Despite the more than 25% increase, however, Danely maintained his neutral recommendation on the stock -- likely one reason its price didn't rise higher on the move.
It wasn't immediately clear why the prognosticator made his adjustment, but he frequently tweaks his take on Intel.
Earlier this month, the storied chipmaker set the date for its next earnings release. It will announce its first-quarter results next Thursday, April 27, just after market close. It's not uncommon for analysts to adjust their takes on stocks in the run-up to the publication of quarterly figures.
Now what
Intel isn't the 300-pound chipmaking gorilla it once was, and it has struggled to remain relevant in a world moving away from the PC, its bread-and-butter segment for decades. According to the latest quarterly data compiled by tech industry researcher IDC, global shipments of PCs fell by a queasy 29% year over year in the first quarter of 2023.
This is surely impacting Intel, which still has a monster PC business, and it's keeping the market bearish on its prospects despite the latest price-target raise on its stock.
