Bank of America lifts Intel rating to Buy and raises price target as optimism grows for chips and foundry push

Intel is drawing fresh Wall Street optimism after Bank of America upgraded the company twice in its latest note, shifting the stock from Underperform to Buy and raising its price target to $135 from $96. The move reflects the bank’s growing confidence that Intel can translate its product roadmap into improved momentum across both its traditional chip business and its newer strategy to sell manufacturing capacity to outside customers.

In the coverage reposted by Proactive Investors, the bank’s case centers on “higher confidence” that Intel will be able to capitalize on developments tied to its central processing unit, or CPU, roadmap and its foundry efforts. CPUs are the logic chips that power computers and many data center servers, while “foundry” refers to the business of manufacturing chips for other companies, not just for the chip designer’s own products.

The same report said the rating change is a “double upgrade,” a term typically used when an analyst moves a stock upward by two steps on the firm’s internal recommendation scale. The upgrade itself does not guarantee near-term results, but it indicates that at least one major broker believes the risk-reward balance for Intel has improved compared with the prior outlook.

Bank of America’s price-target increase implies expectations that are meaningfully different from those embedded in the prior $96 objective. While the Proactive Investors post does not provide additional operating detail in the text supplied here, the framing indicates the bank believes Intel has a better chance than previously thought to benefit from market demand and execution around its CPU platforms, along with the credibility of its foundry strategy.

The company’s dual-track approach matters because it targets two different sources of value. Intel’s client and data center CPUs compete in highly demanding performance and supply environments where customers plan years ahead. Separately, the foundry business is meant to reduce Intel’s dependence on internal wafer demand by selling manufacturing output more broadly, but it requires investors to judge whether Intel can deliver competitive processes, yields, and customer commitments.

At this point, what investors still will want to understand is how quickly Intel’s strategy can translate into measurable financial traction. The Proactive Investors repost, based on the information available for this review, does not specify near-term revenue, margin targets, or particular manufacturing milestones behind Bank of America’s uplift. That leaves key questions, such as the timing and scale of any foundry customer wins and whether CPU improvements will show up fast enough to offset costs tied to process transitions, unanswered in the text reviewed here.

Looking ahead, the market will likely focus on Intel’s next disclosures for evidence that execution is matching the improved sentiment. Investors will watch for updates tied to product delivery, customer adoption indicates, and any progress that supports the view that Intel can broaden its chip-manufacturing footprint. Additional analyst research from other firms, especially those tracking foundry pipeline developments and CPU competitiveness, may also shape how durable this optimism is.