NEW YORK, Jan 20, 2026, 11:36 (EST)
Intel shares jumped about 5.7% to $49.63 in late-morning trading Tuesday after Seaport Research Partners upgraded the chipmaker to Buy, setting a $65 price target. HSBC also raised its rating to Hold. Seaport analyst Jay Goldberg highlighted “strong signals” from Intel’s PC lineup, saying the company is “back on the right path,” but cautioned it’s “not out of the woods.” (Benzinga)
The calls come just two days ahead of Intel’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings report, set for Jan. 22 after the market closes. The company will follow that with an earnings call at 2 p.m. PT. Investors are watching closely: with the stock already reacting, the pressure is on Intel to back up expectations with solid numbers. (Intel Corporation)
HSBC’s Frank Lee bumped his price target on Intel to $50 from $26, citing a potential boost in demand for traditional server chips driven by “agentic AI”—software that actively plans and executes tasks instead of just responding to prompts. He projects server CPU shipments to jump 15% to 20% in 2026, far surpassing Wall Street’s 4% to 6% forecasts. Lee also raised his 2026 revenue estimate for Intel’s Data Center and AI unit (DCAI) to $19.8 billion. (TipRanks)
HSBC pointed out there’s “further DCAI upside still not fully priced in,” even after Intel’s gains this year, according to an Investing.com report. The spotlight is on Intel’s server business, which faces pressure to hold market share while trying to reignite growth.
Seaport’s upgrade focused heavily on PCs and manufacturing. The firm highlighted a rebound in Intel’s core products and early gains in manufacturing as bright spots for Intel Foundry, the company’s contract chipmaking arm. It also pointed to Intel’s upcoming “Panther Lake” PC processors as a major catalyst. (Investing)
Some terms are just industry shorthand. A CPU, or central processing unit, handles most computing tasks in PCs and many servers. “18A” stands for Intel’s upcoming manufacturing process node, and “advanced packaging” means combining several chips into one module—a strategy to improve performance when building a single, massive chip becomes too tough or expensive.
HSBC maintained its Hold rating, emphasizing that the upside depends on execution rather than demand projections alone. The note highlighted persistent uncertainty about Intel’s foundry customer pipeline, despite stronger momentum in servers driven by newer AI workloads. (TipRanks)
Wall Street is divided. According to data from StockAnalysis.com, Intel’s overall analyst consensus remains at Hold, with an average price target of $37.52 despite Tuesday’s upgrades — underscoring how many experts still view the rally as disconnected from fundamentals. (StockAnalysis)
Intel’s upcoming report on Jan. 22 will put the recent optimism to the test. Investors want to see if server demand is picking up, whether 18A is ready for volume production, and if Intel Foundry can draw clients outside the company.
