Intel Shares Rise More Than 4% as JPMorgan Ends Underweight Rating

Intel shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading Monday after JPMorgan upgraded the chipmaker to Neutral from Underweight, ending a nearly four-year negative rating while keeping its $85 price target.

JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur pointed to a roughly 36% decline from Intel's June peak. The drop brought shares closer to the bank's target and, in his assessment, made the balance of potential gains and losses more even. JPMorgan had held the Underweight rating since November 2022.

Intel closed Friday at $89.85, putting the unchanged target about 5.4% below that level. The upgrade marked a less negative view of the stock without raising the bank's price target.

Sur's analysis also highlighted Intel's shrinking processor share. Its share of server x86 CPU revenue fell to 53% from 77% since the 2022 downgrade, while its PC CPU share declined to 68% from 81%. Sur expects further losses in the coming quarters, especially in server processors.

Intel is scheduled to release third-quarter results after the market closes Oct. 29, with an earnings call at 5 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC).