Intel (INTC) Stock Is Up 8% Today: What's Going On?

Intel Corp’s INTC stock pushed higher Tuesday afternoon, despite a lack of company-specific news for the session. The stock appears to be higher amid general, broader tech sector enthusiasm.

What To Know: Tuesday’s rally came even as CFO David Zinsner recently revealed at a J.P. Morgan conference that initial production volumes for external customers on its upcoming 18A and 14A manufacturing technologies would be “insignificant.”

He projects the company's foundry business, which needs billions in revenue to become viable, won't break even until 2027, a long road for a turnaround plan that has seen the chipmaker's stock plunge over 30% in the last year.

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This sober outlook follows a disappointing second-quarter forecast and analyst concerns that its first-quarter beat was merely due to customers pre-buying ahead of potential tariffs. The challenges, particularly in data centers where rivals AMD and Nvidia Corp gained significant market share, culminated in the 2024 ousting of former CEO Pat Gelsinger.

However, the market's focus could be elsewhere. A recent Bank of America tech conference highlighted a bullish tone across computing, with analysts raising price targets on AI-leader Nvidia Corp, CPU-designer Arm Holdings and equipment makers KLA Corp and Lam Research.

This industry-wide optimism, fueled by the dominance of the “Magnificent Seven” and massive May inflows into tech funds like the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 ETF, is creating a powerful updraft for all semiconductor names, allowing Intel to float higher on sector sentiment rather than its own challenging fundamentals.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Intel is trading sharply higher Tuesday afternoon, up 8.13% at a price of $22.15. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH was also in positive territory, showing a gain of 1.96% at a price of $261.99.

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How To Buy INTC Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Intel’s case, it is in the Information Technology sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

INTC has a 52-week high of $37.16 and a 52-week low of $17.66.