INTC, AMD, MSFT, DELL Stocks Rally: Is Old Guard Of Big Tech Back In Vogue?

• INTC and AMD hit fresh highs on Thursday after Bernstein raised its price targets on the stocks; INTC is on track for its best month in over five decades.
• Recent results from TSMC and AMSL signal that demand for AI and related components remains strong, lifting chip-makers' shares.
• Analysts see Dell as a beneficiary amid customers shifting their orders after the Super Micro Controversy.

The old guard of Big Tech is back in favor with investors. After sharp gains over the past two weeks, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices hit fresh highs on Thursday, while Microsoft has rallied about 18% from its 52-week low and Dell is on track for a sixth straight week of gains.

A mix of macro relief and AI-driven optimism has been lifting these stocks. Easing rate fears and a rotation into lagging tech names have brought buyers back, while continued strong demand for AI infrastructure is supporting sentiment. 

Intel, in particular, has been on a tear. The stock is up 55% so far in April, putting it on track for its best month in over five decades. Intel is amid a major turnaround, which has been in the works since last year, when it appointed Lip-Bu Tan as CEO and the government picked up a 10% stake.

Investors have grown more upbeat about Intel’s foundry push – long a source of concern – with progress on its 18A process and a steady stream of high-profile partnerships across cloud and AI customers, including deals with Microsoft and Elon Musk’s companies.

On Thursday, Intel hired Samsung Foundry head Shawn Han as the general manager of the chip-maker’s foundry services, a move that signals a greater push to win foundry customers.

Bernstein raised its price target on INTC to $60 from $36 – the new target is about $8 below the stock’s last closing price – arguing that surging demand for Intel’s server CPUs is making up for weakness in the PC chip market.

AMD is on a red-hot streak of its own, with the stock rising for 12 straight sessions and surging about 42% over that stretch. Bernstein raised the AMD target as well, penciling in $265 from $235 earlier.

Microsoft logged a four-day gains streak on Thursday, and the stock is up 18% from the 52-week low it hit late last month. Although Braid lowered the stock target to $500 from $540 on Wednesday, the analyst contended that the AI and cloud business appears healthy. 

Dell shares have surged about 75% from their Jan. 20 low, as analysts see the company as a key beneficiary of customers shifting orders away from Super Micro following the latter’s controversy over alleged export violations involving its co-founder's sales of servers to Chinese customers.

“AMD, Microsoft, Dell... time machine names! Evergreen!” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on X.

Microsoft will report its quarterly results on April 29. Intel and AMD are scheduled to report their results on April 23 and May 5, respectively, while Dell reports on May 28.

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