Macquarie Gives Intel Corporation (INTC) the Thumbs Up

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is in the spotlight today after Srini Pajjuri of Macquarie initiated an ‘Outperform’ rating and set a $40 target on the semi-conductor giant. Although he isn’t knock-out impressed by Intel’s Mobileye purchase timing and the semi-conductor’s overall capex spending, the analyst thinks Intel shares can go higher due to strength from the server segment, specifically from the 14nm cycle and the Purley product. Pajjuri also isn’t too concerned about competition from AMD at the moment.

Although Intel’s stock hasn’t taken off like AMD or NVIDIA shares have, the company is still one of the best bets in the industry in terms of safety and competitive advantages. With the company’s data-center/server segment poised for more growth ahead, Wall Street is optimistic on the venerable company.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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Collectively, the smart money was not as bullish on Intel in the fourth quarter as they were in the third quarter. Of the 742 elite funds we track, 58 funds owned $3.7 billion of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and accounted for 2.20% of the float on December 31, versus 68 funds and $4.88 billion respectively on September 30.

The Bottom Line
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is in the spotlight today due to an analyst upgrade. Although it has been range-bound for a while, Wall Street thinks Intel has more upside, particularly in regards to its server opportunities. For those of you interested, check out this article about the 25 best states for computer programmers.

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