A new rumor emerged recently that may, if it comes to pass, light a fire under chip stock Intel (INTC) and its foundry ambitions. The reports suggest that Intel may be in line to manufacture certain models of Nvidia (NVDA) chips, a move that would give it a piece of one of its own competitors. Investors are skeptical, if a bit hopeful, and Intel shares notched up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
We all know that Intel has been working to ramp up its foundry capabilities for some time now. It spent a huge pot of money in Ohio trying to get factories set up, and landed cash from not only Ohio but also the federal government via the CHIPS Act. Now, reports suggest that may be about to pay off, as Nvidia may be looking to buy in.
The rumor came from reports advanced by Timothy Arcuri, UBS analyst, who also has a five-star rating on TipRanks. Arcuri noted that Intel is actually “closing in” on landing Nvidia as a client, which would underscore Intel’s foundry aspirations wonderfully. With Intel already making inroads at Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT), landing Nvidia should put a lot of fears to rest.
The Board Will Miss All That Growth
Despite this, however, several members of Intel’s board of directors are apparently packing up. When the 2025 annual meeting comes up, reports note, three board members will not appear for re-election. Omar Ishrak, Tsu-Jae King Liu, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey will all be departing the board with the next annual meeting, reports note.
Why the trio is looking to depart is unclear, but Intel has already been bolstering its board with several appointments as it is. In fact, reports noted that Intel was looking to get away from board members with academic and financial credits and more toward technical credits. With Intel now “equally focused on product and foundry,” having more technically-minded board members may well help push toward that goal.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 27 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 46.19% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $23 per share implies 2.62% downside risk.
