Is Intel Headed for a Bull Market ? (TL;DR @ end)For the past 5 years, NASDAQ:INTC has been through quite the 'ride' of market price. For a good portion of their existence - they ran the multi-core CPU world almost entirely unchallenged. As of about 3 years ago, Advanced Micro Devices ( NASDAQ:AMD ) suddenly emerged from the mist with cheaper, greater performing chips that were idolised by the gaming and high-performance workstation community. While this was happening, Intel was far more interested in the large scale server industry, supplying various high capacity servers to various institutions such as universities and state owned research facilities. The public eye began to look down on Intel. AMD had come up neck and neck with Intel in performance and price yet Intel didn't exactly make their 'best efforts' to get ahead. Inevitably AMD surpassed them and Intel's market price fell.
Although, recently, new developments have come out of Intel (possibly consequent to the COVID pandemic). Last week, they announced the IPO of their daughter company, Mobileye. The IPO is planned for the middle of next year but this drove the stock price up slightly. Furthermore, their biggest rival, AMD has been falling behind both in the graphics card and CPU markets. The release of the 12th generation Alder Lake chips from Intel and the (stated) high performance (supposedly far better than available AMD chips) have also driven the price further up.
Intel also recently stated that they have adjusted their budget for development in desktop and laptop chips which should in theory result in the further production of even better products, even sooner.
So with an optimistic outlook on the company, the value should begin to increase and soon. If you're lucky enough to put money in now and results turn out as expected, COVID restrictions may just settle (due to Omicron not being as much of a threat) and the shortage of hardware across the industry may very well give the price that added 'leg-up'.
For investors and traders, all I would suggest is keeping your eyes peeled and thinking about the possibilities of this market dominated by only 2 companies. As usual, other opinions, facts and news are definitely welcome, so comment away!
TL;DR: Intel has been potentially pulling themselves up through these 3rd and 4th quarters. The release of 12th gen chips and the announcement of the IPO for Mobileye could all lead up to a hefty price climb. Conveniently AMD (biggest competitor) is also having a tough time and to add to this 'stroke of good luck', if COVID restrictions are eased due to the lack of intensity of the omicron, the price could climb higher.