Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has been having something of a long, dark night of the soul lately. Competition is on the rise and formerly safe markets are being encroached upon in rapid fashion. With Intel scrambling to patch the holes, it’s looking like trouble ahead. Investors are concerned as well, and sent Intel shares down almost 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Perhaps the most disturbing new development for Intel was ARM Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) and just how much of a competitor it was shaping up to be. ARM made it clear that it plans to go in on the home PC market in a big way, working to gain a majority share between now and 2029. Several Windows PCs are already slated to use ARM chips, and the ARM chips from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) currently hold 14.9% of the worldwide PC market as it stands. If ARM can see similar results from the Windows market, then that 50% goal may not be so far-fetched.
Intel Is Fighting Back
But Intel will not go quietly into the ash heap of history and is already growing its presence in the handheld gaming PC market, with its Lunar Lake processor line set to hit the MSI Claw in much the same way it’s come to other handheld gaming PCs. Further, Intel has rolled out a Green PC rating standard in China, where partnering original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be able to release Bronze, Silver, and Gold-rated systems.
This is part of a larger push on Intel’s part to drive greener operations; back in February, it rolled out a green PC concept that could be 90% recycled, reducing waste and improving Intel’s image in the market.
Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on three Buys, 26 Holds, and three Sells. After a 2.94% gain in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $37.87 per share implies 25.15% upside potential.
