It will likely come as little surprise that several of Intel’s (INTC) investors are not pleased with the chip stock’s direction. Cutting off the dividend was likely problematic enough, but that is just the start of Intel’s recent issues. Now, it may be facing activist investors and is working accordingly to block them off before they arise. Intel itself, meanwhile, is down modestly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
It is no secret that Intel has lagged behind in the production of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Nvidia (NVDA) and other counterparts in the field. Ever since Melius Research declared Intel an “AI laggard,” this perception has colored the landscape around it. Further, Intel’s foundry aspirations have not quite gone according to plan, featuring a great deal of expense with little payout as of yet.
Thus, Intel has called in Morgan Stanley, among others, to set up a defensive wall against future potential interest. With Intel down 57% in market value over the last year to date and Intel struggling to keep up in a field increasingly turning to AI chips, Intel is working to keep activists away so that it can work in peace.
Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 26 Holds, and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 38.74% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $27.32 per share implies 34.78% upside potential.
