Intel (INTC) Stock Gains After Musk Sets Terafab Chip Targets

TLDR

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Intel (INTC) stock rose about 2% Wednesday premarket as chip and AI names rallied.
Elon Musk set Terafab targets: a test chip by mid-2027 and volume production around Q3 2028.
Musk hinted at chip fabrication breakthroughs but said he would not “give away the shop.”
JPMorgan upgraded Intel from Underweight to Neutral, though it kept an $85 price target.
Intel opened at $91.69, below its 50-day average of $102.82, with a consensus “Hold” rating.

Intel (INTC) stock was up about 2% before the open Wednesday, after it closed the prior session near $91.69. The move came as chip and artificial intelligence names rallied across the board.

Intel Corp., INTC

Investors also had Elon Musk on their minds. The SpaceX CEO laid out targets for Terafab, the AI chip project involving SpaceX, Tesla and Intel.

Musk said he wants the first test chip made by May or June next year. He expects volume production around the third quarter of 2028.

Then he teased something extra. He said there are potential breakthroughs in chip fabrication, but an earnings call was not the place to discuss them.

“Let’s not give away the shop here,” he said. He added that he is optimistic the group will “dramatically accelerate chip production.”

That sounds good for Intel on paper. Still, the market has been a bit jumpy about who else might get a seat at the table.

Terafab Worries Earlier This Month

October started rough for Intel. Musk signaled that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing was in talks to help run Terafab.

“Just discussions, but something may come of it,” he wrote on X. He later said TSMC would add to Intel’s role, not replace it.

Even so, the idea that Intel might not have the project to itself unsettled some investors. Musk’s cryptic comments Wednesday could stir that worry again.

Analyst views have also been mixed. JPMorgan upgraded Intel from Underweight to Neutral, pointing to better execution and a more balanced risk and reward. It kept its price target at $85.

TD Cowen cut its target from $115 to $95 and stayed at Hold. Mizuho lifted its target from $92 to $114 earlier in October with a Neutral rating.

Across Wall Street, one analyst rates the stock Strong Buy, 22 say Buy, 26 say Hold and one says Sell. The average price target is $107.98.

Ownership and Insider Buying

Capstone Capital Management bought 375,531 Intel shares in the third quarter, worth about $45.15 million. Intel is now its largest holding at 17.9% of the portfolio.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan bought 105,263 shares in August at $95.00 each, for roughly $10 million. Institutions own 64.53% of the stock.

Intel’s last report, on July 23, showed earnings of $0.42 per share against estimates of $0.21. Revenue was $16.13 billion, up 25.2% from a year earlier.

The stock has a 52-week range of $32.89 to $142.35. Its market cap stands at $462.48 billion.

Reports of a future Tesla deal involving Intel’s 14A process also drew attention this week. Intel has set Q3 guidance at $0.38 per share.

Intel (INTC) Stock Gains After Musk Sets Terafab Chip Targets

TLDR

Terafab Worries Earlier This Month

Ownership and Insider Buying

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