New York, Jan 14, 2026, 08:15 EST — Premarket
- Intel shares climbed roughly 1.5% in early trading, following a 7.3% surge on Tuesday.
- KeyBanc raised Intel to overweight and bumped the price target up to $60, citing strong data-center demand and strides in manufacturing.
- Investors are focused on Intel’s Jan. 22 earnings for clues on pricing power, foundry client traction, and progress with the 18A ramp.
Intel shares climbed 1.5% to $47.99 in Wednesday’s premarket, following a 7.3% jump the day before. The stock had ended Tuesday at $47.29.
KeyBanc Capital Markets grabbed attention by upgrading Intel to “overweight” just a day ago, a rare bullish call. Intel is working hard to win back investor confidence as it revamps its chip strategy and expands into data centers and contract manufacturing. Investopedia
KeyBanc analyst John Vinh linked the upgrade to “outsized hyperscaler demand,” referring to the largest cloud providers, following a trip to Asia. He noted Intel is “largely sold out” of server CPUs for 2026 and is considering a “10–15% ASP increase,” signaling higher average selling prices. Investing.com
The note also highlighted Intel’s 18A manufacturing process hitting a 60% yield rate, indicating the production line is stabilizing. Yield measures the percentage of usable chips from a wafer; a higher yield usually means lower unit costs and better volume capacity.
KeyBanc’s upgrade hinged largely on Intel’s foundry ambitions — the company’s bid to manufacture chips for external clients, a market currently led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The analyst firm suggested that Intel’s recent strides might gradually close the distance with Samsung’s foundry business.
Intel surged as other chip stocks also showed movement. Advanced Micro Devices climbed 6.4% to $220.97, Nvidia edged up 0.5% to $185.81, and TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares slipped 0.2% to $331.21.
The bullish outlook hinges on execution. Any slowdown in server demand, easing memory bottlenecks, or hiccups in Intel’s manufacturing ramp could quickly undercut the pricing power KeyBanc anticipates.
Intel is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on Thursday, Jan. 22, after the market closes. The company will hold its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT.
Traders are watching closely for concrete figures on 2026 server supply, updates on how fast 18A production is ramping up, and if the shift from discussions to signed contracts with external foundries is underway.
Intel is eyeing near-term product launches. The company announced that the first consumer laptops featuring its new Core Ultra Series 3 processors will hit the global market starting Jan. 27.
