Is Intel Corporation (INTC) an “AI Loser” or an “Underappreciated Gem”?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities continued the journey as the growing number of “winners” concentrated in the market due to the excitement surrounding new weight loss medications and artificial intelligence, while the overall market was being affected by weakening economic indicators. The Russell 1000 Value Index underperformed its growth counterpart in the quarter, returning -2.17% to the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s 8.34% return. The strategy lagged behind its Russell 1000 Value Index benchmark during the quarter and had negative contributions from nine of the 11 sectors it was invested, on an absolute basis. Overall stock selection detracted from the performance, relatively. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy highlighted stocks like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells computing and related products and services. The one-month return of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was 3.59%, and its shares lost 2.20% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 5, 2024, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) stock closed at $32.02 per share with a market capitalization of $136.305 billion.

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“The massive ramp up in spending on AI spending has crowded out spending in other technology verticals such as software and traditional enterprise infrastructure. This has also driven a market where “AI winners” have enjoyed strong multiple expansion, while perceived “AI losers” have been severely punished. One example of a perceived AI loser temporarily cast aside was the Strategy’s top detractor for the quarter, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), whose shares declined as it put out financial targets for 2027 that were below Wall Street expectations, and also noted that demand for its core PC and server chips remained depressed. We take a contrarian view of Intel and do not think it will be an AI loser, but rather see underappreciated opportunity as AI PCs ramp over the next few quarters in enterprises, where Intel has a stronghold. We also believe that the company’s technology roadmap remains intact, which we believe will lead to a stabilization in market share in its core PC and server markets. Both markets remain depressed, but we believe that aging infrastructure and the ongoing growth of IT workloads will lead to a cyclical recovery in both markets, which should benefit shares.”

A technician soldering components for a semiconductor board.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 77 hedge fund portfolios held Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) at the end of the first quarter which was 86 in the previous quarter. The first-quarter revenue of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was $12.7 billion, an increase of 9% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

In the Q1 2024 investor letter, Parnassus Value Equity Fund discussed Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and expressed optimism about the company’s growth potential. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was the primary detractor of ClearBridge Dividend Strategy in Q2 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.