Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) desktop chips haven’t been having a great run of late, and reports emerged that Intel might have finally pinned down the cause. Yet, the fix Intel thought was discovered turned out to be much less of a fix than previously suspected. Still, despite this—and some emerging concerns about Intel’s foundry plans—Intel shares gained fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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It’s a problem that’s been ongoing for months now, but some of Intel’s bread-and-butter high-end gaming processors have been causing games to crash. That’s a serious problem; it’s almost like buying an engine for your Porsche that occasionally makes the car stop altogether. And while a potential solution was found, Intel was actually quick to not take credit.
It noted that it “…has not confirmed root cause” and is “…continuing, with its partners, to investigate user reports regarding instability issues on unlocked Intel Core 13th and 14th generation desktop processors.” A microcode patch was released, but this patch isn’t likely to fix all the problems. Rather, it will address an issue that is “…contributing to instability…” as opposed to permanently solving the problem.
Biting Off More Than It Can Chew?
We know that Intel’s major aspiration is to become a foundry system, producing other companies’ chips. However, those aspirations recently came back to bite Intel, as a lawsuit filed by Levi & Korsinsky calls upon Intel to stop “…misrepresenting financial results of its foundry.” The reports also suggest that Intel didn’t disclose losses sustained through the foundry division in 2023. Thus, a class action lawsuit has been filed to pursue satisfaction on this front.
Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on four Buys, 26 Holds, and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.92% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $40.31 per share implies 31.39% upside potential.
