Bank of America Warns Intel Stock Could Fall from Here. Should You Sell INTC Now or Keep Chasing New Highs?

Core Viewpoint - Bank of America downgraded Intel's stock to "Underperform" with a price target of $34, indicating an approximate 8% downside from current levels after a nearly 85% surge in 2025 [1] Financial Performance - Intel secured $5.7 billion from the U.S. government for a 10% equity stake, raised $2 billion from SoftBank, sold nearly $1 billion of Mobileye shares, and anticipates another $3.5 billion from the Altera sale [6] Market Position and Strategy - Intel lacks a clear AI portfolio or strategy, which is critical as AI drives the semiconductor industry, and its server CPU business is uncompetitive against rivals like AMD [3] - The recent partnership with Nvidia aims to address market gaps by integrating x86 CPUs into Nvidia's NVLink ecosystem for AI supercomputers and combining Intel x86 CPUs with Nvidia GPU chiplets for consumer PCs [7] Analyst Sentiment - Following the downgrade, Intel's stock dropped over 4%, making it one of the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, with most analysts remaining neutral and awaiting evidence of sustained customer commitments in Intel's foundry business [5] - The average analyst price target aligns closely with BofA's forecast of $34, suggesting limited upside potential [5]