Intel Corp INTC shares closed slightly higher Wednesday amid a tumultuous trading day for the semiconductor sector. 

What To Know

Semiconductor stocks moved lower Wednesday as investors digested a report about the expansion of export restrictions and ASML Holding NV‘s ASML earnings release and forward guidance. 

ASML shares fell more than 12% on the session after the company reported second-quarter numbers that were lower than the same period in the previous year and guided quarterly gross margin in the range of 50% to 51% versus expectations of 51.1%.

Investors also mulled a Bloomberg report that the Biden administration is considering imposing the most severe trade restrictions on China if companies continue giving the country access to advanced semiconductor technology.

Additionally, former President Donald Trump said Taiwan should pay the U.S. for its defense, casting more doubt on the stability of the region. 

“I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100% of our chip business. I think, Taiwan should pay us for defense,” Trump said in the Bloomberg Businessweek interview, published Tuesday.

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Investors may view Intel as a safer option, compared to peers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. TSM and NVIDIA Corp NVDA, which depend on Taiwan for manufacturing. Intel said it expects to invest more than $100 billion in the U.S. to expand its manufacturing capacity and capabilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Ohio with support from the CHIPS act. 

Intel is set to report its second-quarter results on Aug. 1 after the closing bell. According to estimates from Benzinga Pro, analysts expect the company to report earnings of 10 cents per share and quarterly revenue of $12.948 billion.

INTC Stock Prediction 2024

Equity research can be a valuable source of information for learning about a company's fundamentals. Analysts create financial models based on the fundamentals and expected future earnings of a company to arrive at a price target and recommendation for the stock.

Shares of Intel have an average 1-year price target of $34.86, representing an expected upside of 1.51%.

Because of differences in assumptions, analysts can arrive at very different price targets and recommendations. Four analysts have bearish recommendations on Intel, while one analyst has bullish ratings. The street high price target from Mizuho is $45, while the street low from Rosenblatt is $17.

INTC Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Intel Corporation ended Wednesday's session up 0.35% at $34.46.

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