New York, Feb 14, 2026, 10:40 EST — Market is shut.
- Intel finished Friday at $46.79, up 0.6%, recovering some ground after Thursday’s steep decline.
- DA Davidson kicked off coverage with a Neutral and set a $45 target, citing concerns about execution risk in Intel’s turnaround.
- Intel’s latest quarterly SEC filing put the value of its U.S. equity holdings at roughly $724 million as of the end of December.
Intel shares ended Friday’s session up 0.6% at $46.79, recovering slightly after a choppy week for the chipmaker. The stock moved in a $45.00 to $47.69 range, with roughly 69.7 million shares traded.
Intel’s role as a pressure point for U.S. chip stocks isn’t going away—investors are still trying to figure out if the rebound comes from real earnings strength or just optimism. With the weekend pause in markets, rate expectations and analyst notes could drive positioning headed into next week, rather than anything directly out of the company.
Intel’s costly overhaul is underway, as it pushes to reclaim manufacturing leadership and draws in outside clients for its Intel Foundry segment. Any tweak in risk appetite, or a new take on execution, tends to land with more weight than the stock’s actual moves might signal.
Intel shares dropped 3.75% to $46.48 on Thursday, according to MarketWatch, leaving the stock still trailing its late January 52-week high of $54.60. (MarketWatch)
Markets caught a breather Friday after U.S. inflation numbers came in just under forecasts. The Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4% from a year earlier, a notch below the 2.5% economists had penciled in, Reuters said. “A bit of good news as we head into the long holiday weekend,” Orion CIO Tim Holland said. (Reuters)
Intel just landed a fresh rating from DA Davidson, which kicked off coverage at Neutral and slapped a $45 price target on the stock for the next 12 months. Analysts there called Intel’s current turnaround “one of the hardest resets in semiconductor history,” dubbing the company the “ultimate show me” story. (TipRanks)
Investors tracking fund flows got another data point from a U.S. regulatory filing. In a Form 13F covering the end of December, Intel listed $724,175,358 in total market value for its U.S.-listed holdings, according to the document.
Conditions remain choppy. Wall Street took a sharp hit Thursday, spooked by uncertainty over which sectors AI might upend. The Nasdaq shed nearly 2%, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index dropped 2.5%, according to Reuters. GuideStone Funds’ Jack Herr described 2024 as a “prove it” year for AI-driven gains. (Reuters)
Intel finds itself pulled in two directions here: its CPUs get installed right next to AI accelerators in the data center, yet the company is still fighting to regain its footing as the sector races ahead and pours in cash. If sentiment sours, Intel has an even higher bar to clear.
Intel’s previous earnings report delivered a clear message. Back in January, the company revealed it couldn’t keep up with demand for AI server chips and projected revenue and profit for the current quarter would miss expectations. CEO Lip-Bu Tan told analysts, “In the short term, I’m disappointed that we are not able to fully meet the demand in our markets.” (Reuters)
Tan’s ambitions go beyond the current lineup. Earlier this month, he said Intel is moving into GPUs, the chip segment made famous by Nvidia, and told Reuters the move is “tied in with the data center.” It’s another step as Intel looks to push past its usual turf. (Reuters)
The risks stack up quickly. Intel’s foundry and manufacturing schedules miss a beat? Customers might just keep their orders with competitors. Margins and yields lag? That drags out any turnaround. Rate-cut bets off the table? High-spending firms can get hit fast. Competition? AMD keeps turning up the heat in CPUs, and Nvidia isn’t easing up in AI accelerators.
First, the schedule slows: U.S. equity markets shut down Monday, Feb. 16, for Washington’s Birthday (Presidents Day). Action picks up again Tuesday, when trading is back on. (New York Stock Exchange)
Looking ahead, chip-sector heavyweights remain in focus. Nvidia plans its quarterly results call for Wednesday, Feb. 25, and that tends to move the needle not just for Nvidia itself but also for names like Intel, as investors scrutinize data-center demand and spending cues. (nvidianews.nvidia.com)
