Melius Research sees improving prospects for Intel . The firm upgraded the semiconductor manufacturer to buy from hold. The bank also raised its price target to $50 from $44, which implies about 27% upside. Shares of Intel surged 84% in 2025. That far outpaced the 16.4% gain seen in the S & P 500. Analyst Ben Reitzes wrote that he was upgrading Intel in part on its 14A node, a new chip slated for release in 2027. INTC 1Y mountain INTC 1Y chart “There is a good chance that Nvidia (an Intel shareholder) and Apple take a hard look at producing chips on the 14A node by 2028/2029 and this news could fully filter into the stock as we go throughout 2026, driving higher book value,” Reitzes said. The analyst also cited Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s business relationships with more powerful players such as President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Reitzes added that he has a more optimistic view this year when it comes to Intel’s foundry assets, or its chip manufacturing business. He also applauded Intel’s packaging assets, which could provide some near-term tailwinds for the stock. “Intel’s packaging assets are seeing increased demand given shortages, which could buoy results a bit for the Foundry segment even in the near term. Intel’s EMIB technology for advanced packaging uses silicon bridges similar to TSMC’s CoWoS-L and can support very large packages which is critical for AI chips because they enable more chiplets and higher yields,” he wrote.
