Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintained its "Buy" rating on Intel, with a price target of $160.

July 24th, U.S. Bank maintains a "Buy" rating on Intel (INTC) with a target price of $160. U.S. Bank stated that Intel's second-quarter performance exceeded expectations and raised guidance, once again validating two core pillars of its bullish thesis.

Discussions between Intel and external foundry customers have entered a more specific stage, driving an expansion of capital expenditures, which could benefit semiconductor equipment companies. Intel's core server CPU business is actively participating in the AI ​​cycle of intelligent edge, with data center revenue growing by 59% year-on-year, marking the highest growth rate in the past 15 years.

Intel possesses advanced process manufacturing capabilities in the United States and has received strong support from the White House, which still constitutes its long-term competitive advantage. On the risk side, the market needs to pay attention to whether Intel will finance capital expenditures through measures such as equity issuance. However, the company can also raise funds through selling non-core assets or receiving potential customer prepayments.