Intel shares are surging like cakes: over the course of a week, the company's market value rose by $100 billion

Intel Reenters the Top‑Popular Stocks of the S&P 500

Over the past weeks Intel’s shares have become one of the most discussed companies in the S&P 500 index. A nine‑day price surge lifted its market capitalization by more than $100 million, and over the last week it has risen almost 53 % – the best weekly performance since January 2020 and the highest figure for a comparable period in the historical record.

What Sparked the Rise
Date | Event | Impact
April | Intel agreed to pay $14.2 million to buy back half of its Irish unit previously sold to Apollo Global Management. Analysts see this as confirmation of the company’s successful transformation.
Past week | Announcement of a partnership with the Terafab project – chip development for Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. Following that, Google announced plans to use future generations of Intel Xeon processors in its data centers.

Share Dynamics
* Since the beginning of the year: up 72 % (compared to last year’s jump of 84 %, driven by investments from Nvidia, SoftBank and the U.S. government).
* Government investment share is now estimated at about $27 million – more than three times the initial outlay.

> “Intel’s outlook analysis is gaining momentum,” noted Ben Reitzes of Melius Research, raising the target price for the shares for the third time this year.

> “The company is no longer on life‑support mode,” added Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital.

Wall Street Position
Criterion | Result | Recommendation
From 52 analysts, only 10 recommend “buy”, 6 recommend “sell” (the average for the S&P 500 is higher).
Consensus | Rating 3.15 out of five – the lowest among chip makers.
Premium to Target Price | Shares trade with a noticeable premium, indicating overly rapid growth.

*Share price exceeds projected earnings for the next 12 months by more than 90 times – the highest level in the entire historical record (since the early 1980s). This is higher than the peak dot‑com bubble multiple and comparable to an average ratio of about 21 for the chip‑maker index.*

Long‑Term Outlook
Despite current growth, some analysts advise maintaining a long‑term approach:

* 2023 – a net loss of approximately $0.17 per share is expected.
* 2027 – projected earnings of $0.33 per share.
* 2029 – anticipated earnings of $2.13 per share.

> “Jay Goldberg from Seaport Group believes Wall Street probably underestimates Intel’s long‑term prospects, despite the ‘crazy’ valuations in the chip sector,” he said. He sees greater growth potential for the company in the future.