If you have been wondering just what chip stock Intel’s (INTC) new strategy is, you may rest assured you are not alone. Much thought has been given to just what Intel will be doing with its days going forward in a bid to not be buried by its competition. A new report from the EE Times, meanwhile, gave some insight as one of Intel’s CEOs, MJ Holthaus, offered up commentary. Investors were not mollified, however, and sent shares slumping nearly 2.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Holthaus took to the stage at the Barclays Annual Global Technology Conference. In her capacity as co-CEO of Intel and CEO of products at Intel, she offered up some discussion on the future of Intel. And for the most part, what you saw was what you got, as Holthaus noted that there would be no major shift, but rather a “renewed focus” on Intel products, and making same more competitive overall.
In fact, Holthaus wants to go mining Intel’s recent history to produce its future. Intel wants to engage in “IP reuse,” for both its cloud and edge computing operations. That would take advantage of what it has already made, and potentially offer new use cases for it. Holthaus also looks for more artificial intelligence (AI) in PCs as they look to build out for the next three to five years. While most do not know what they will use AI for, they want to have the option on hand.
Graphics Cards, (Possibly) Poisoned Workers
Intel is also pushing back against its competition in the graphics sector, with a new line of graphics cards that will pursue mid-market users. They will not be as high end as some models, nor will they be specifically budget-friendly. With both AMD (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) poised to release their own cards, though, this will put Intel under pressure.
Meanwhile, reports from The Oregonian suggest that the surviving Intel workers may have a tougher time of things than expected. Four of its employees in Aloha were treated for “possible hazardous materials exposure,” the report noted. The four were treated for “minor respiratory issues,” though more information than that had not been made available.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 22 Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 54.86% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $24.23 per share implies 19.12% upside potential.
