Intel (INTC) shares moved higher in pre-market trading on Monday, rising 4% to $93.31, after JPMorgan upgraded the chipmaker to Neutral from Underweight — even as the stock continues to digest a sharp pullback from its June peak. Neutral sits in the middle of JPMorgan's three-tier rating scale, between Overweight and Underweight.

The upgrade arrives with a price target of $85 that sits below Friday's close of $89.85, when Intel fell 6% on the day. The stock has now dropped 36% from its June high, a steeper decline than the 20% to 25% drawdown seen across the semiconductor sector. Even so, Intel remains up 143% so far this year.

JPMorgan Cites Improved Execution

JPMorgan said Intel's execution in enterprise computing and data centers has improved, crediting the shift to CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over the top job. The bank also pointed to progress in manufacturing yield and advanced packaging — two key measures of a chipmaker's manufacturing progress.

The upgrade nonetheless came with caveats. Since JPMorgan's Underweight call in November 2022, Intel has trailed several peers, with Broadcom and AMD beating it by 115% and 148%, respectively. Over that stretch, Intel's share of the x86 server CPU market — the processors that power data center servers — fell from 77% to 53%, while its PC CPU share dropped from 81% to 68%. The company expects to lose more server share over the next few quarters, making its upcoming quarterly server-share disclosures a key near-term data point to watch.

JPMorgan also flagged the small scale of Intel's foundry business — the unit that manufactures chips for outside customers — which barely reached $1 billion in annualized revenue in the first half of 2026. TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted about $150 billion in the same period.

The firm's 2028 earnings estimates sit about 15% above market consensus. Analysts expect Intel to return to profit this year, with earnings of $1.51 per share.

Sector-Wide Pressure and Company-Specific Risks

The backdrop for the upgrade is a broad selloff in chip stocks. On Friday, AMD dropped 6%, Broadcom fell 5%, and TSMC lost 2%, while the SOX index — the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a widely used benchmark for the chip sector — slid 4%. Investors are questioning AI infrastructure valuations, financing conditions, and how long spending will last, and the rotation out of AI chips has hit Intel along with its peers.

Intel also faces company-specific worries. TSMC suggested it could support customers if Intel's advanced packaging ramp falls short, and an explosion and fire struck Intel's Kiryat Gat facility in Israel.

Other analysts have weighed in recently. Tigress Financial raised its target to $145, citing a partnership with Terafab. Piper Sandler initiated coverage at Neutral with a $110 target, and TD Cowen maintained a Hold with a $115 target. According to MarketBeat data, the stock carries one Strong Buy, 20 Buy, 27 Hold, and two Sell ratings, with an average price target of $109.06 — JPMorgan's new $85 target sits roughly 22% below that average.

Recent Earnings and Technical Picture

Intel's most recent earnings report, released July , showed earnings per share of $0.42 against a $0.21 estimate, with revenue up 25.2% to $16.13 billion. The stock currently trades below its 50-day moving average of $103.05 and its 200-day average of $101.31, two widely watched trend markers. Its one-year range runs from $32.89 to $142.35.

Insiders have shown some confidence. CEO Lip-Bu Tan bought 105,263 shares on August 11 at $95 per share — a purchase of roughly $10 million — raising his holdings to 1,314,669 shares. Separately, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management added 6,305 shares in the third quarter, bringing its stake to 32,290 shares. Institutions own 64.53% of the company.

On Monday, Intel was indicated higher in pre-market trading at $93.31, up $3.59, as investors weighed the JPMorgan upgrade.

This article is based on reporting by CoinCentral.