Yesterday, we ran through some of the troubles that are facing chip maker Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and offered up some potential solutions to address these. Well, it looks like Intel has my brain on speed-dial because it was already working on some of this stuff ahead of publication. New reports about a new production technology geared toward data centers emerged, as well as advances in the Battlemage lineup. This was good news to investors, if a bit subdued, as they pushed shares up fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
First came news about Intel’s latest production technology, known as “Intel 3.” Intel 3 is a 3nm-class production technology, and it’s just gone into high-volume production levels at two different sites. With this, Intel can now put together higher performance and a greater “transistor density,” reports noted.
It’s particularly geared toward high-performance applications and will be used not only internally for chip production but also to further Intel’s ambitions to become a foundry system. With the new systems in place, Intel will receive an 18% boost to performance at current power and transistor density levels.
Battlemage Drivers Incoming
Intel looks to augment its status in the graphics processing unit (GPU) market, as it will soon roll out display drivers for the Battlemage system for Linux. The first drivers will focus on power efficiency. Though this won’t be the end of development for the display driver, it will offer display functionality. That’s a fairly big step forward in and of itself, and with several other changes to follow, Intel’s upcoming Battlemage system may prove a powerhouse that doesn’t pull a lot of power to function.
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 5.02% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $40.31 per share implies 31.47% upside potential.
