Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Dips despite Processor Wins

The news actually came in pretty solidly for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), as the chipmaker’s new Xeon processor offered up some exciting potential. That wasn’t the case all over, though, as the Core i5-14400 faced some trouble, and Intel’s graphics card business struggled. All told, it wasn’t a great day for investors, who sent Intel shares down modestly in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

First came good news for the Xeon 6700E processor, which held its own reasonably well against AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) processors until one major point, where, amazingly, Intel surpassed its rival: dual-socket capability. The 6700E is specifically geared toward hyperscalers, reports noted, and with 144 cores, there’s a pretty good reason why. The full release of the Xeon line will take place starting this year and feature a staggered release going into next year.

However, comparisons between Intel’s Core i5-14400 and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X weren’t clearly on Intel’s side. While Intel had an edge mainly thanks to pricing, price cuts at AMD took the Ryzen 5 down to a more affordable level and put the Core i5-14400 into some unfortunate comparisons.

Hope for the Graphics Card Market?

Intel’s presence in the graphics card market had long been thought rendered moot by the advance of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), but there are signs that Intel could come roaring back. One of the biggest such reports is the so-called “Battlemage” system, which will offer up a line of new and potent graphics cards that will come without unpleasant software issues like those that plagued Intel graphics cards in the past. Breaking Nvidia’s stranglehold on the market won’t be easy, but with the right quality product, Intel might be able to land at least a partial win.

Is Intel a Buy, Hold, or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on three Buys, 26 Holds, and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.19% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $38.02 per share implies 24.74% upside potential.

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