HSBC Just Upgraded Intel to Buy and Raised the Price Target From $50 to $95: Is the Comeback Real?

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) conscionable earned a beardown endorsement from HSBC, with expert Frank Lee upgrading INTC banal from Hold to Buy and astir doubling the terms people from $50 to $95. The standing alteration signals a displacement successful conviction. The telephone arrives conscionable 1 time aft Stifel raised its people from $42 to $65, which maintained a Hold rating. HSBC is going further, and the reasoning matters.

Intel shares person surged 80% twelvemonth to date, closing astatine $65.70 connected April 20. HSBC acknowledges that foundry optimism has driven the rally. The firm's upgrade thesis, however, pivots to thing it believes the marketplace hasn't afloat priced in: Intel's server CPU momentum.

HSBC's Frank Lee argues that Intel has "game-changing server CPU potential" starting successful Q2. The steadfast sees server CPU shipment maturation and terms hikes arsenic the motor down important upside net potential. According to HSBC, this momentum is "not priced into the stock."

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HSBC believes server CPU upside volition thrust net maturation adjacent arsenic foundry uncertainty lingers. The steadfast is separating the server CPU communicative from the foundry communicative and arguing the erstwhile stands connected its own.

Intel's Data Center and AI conception grew 9% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful Q4 2025, reaching $4.74 cardinal and lasting arsenic the company's strongest segment. Full-year FY2025 gross came successful astatine $52.85 billion, fundamentally level twelvemonth implicit year. CEO Lip-Bu Tan noted successful January: "Our condemnation successful the indispensable relation of CPUs successful the AI epoch continues to grow."

Intel's marketplace headdress stands astatine $330.73 cardinal arsenic of April 20. The institution secured $8.9 cardinal successful U.S. CHIPS Act backing and counts some NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and SoftBank arsenic caller investors, with NVIDIA investing $5.0 cardinal and SoftBank investing $2.0 cardinal successful Intel communal stock.

Intel's Q1 2026 guidance calls for gross of $11.7 cardinal to $12.7 billion, with proviso expected to beryllium astatine its lowest earlier improving successful Q2 and beyond. HSBC's upgrade efficaciously front-runs that inflection. On Polymarket, the prediction marketplace presently prices a 90% probability that Intel beats its upcoming quarterly earnings, up from 74% connected April 16.