INTC Stock Has More Than Tripled This Year — But Goldman Sachs Names 3 Better Chip Bets

• Goldman cited favorable trends in the server CPU market and upside potential from Intel's foundry business, but added that INTC’s recent rally has already priced in much of that optimism.
• However, the firm said it believes Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD have better revenue visibility.
• Based on data from Koyfin, Wall Street analysts' estimates peg the 12-month average price target for INTC at $96.07, indicating nearly 28% downside from its previous close.

Intel Corp. (INTC) shares slid over 3% in premarket trading on Friday, even as the chipmaker remained on track to post a third consecutive month of gains.

The move came a day after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Intel with a 'Neutral' rating and a 12-month price target of $150, according to Investing.com, which implies about 13% upside from its last close.

While the brokerage cited favorable trends in the server CPU market and upside potential from Intel's foundry business, it said the stock's recent rally has already priced in much of that optimism. Intel shares have surged 237.4% so far in 2026.

Goldman Suggests Alternatives To Intel

Goldman also identified three semiconductor stocks it views as more compelling investment opportunities: Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).

The bank said it sees Intel benefiting from a surge in server demand driven by agentic AI and meaningful upside potential in its foundry business. Goldman forecast Intel’s advanced packaging revenue to reach $10 billion by 2030, and external wafer revenue is also expected to increase by 2028.

However, the firm said that it believes its peers rank better in terms of revenue visibility. "Intel's closest peers with better revenue visibility are trading in line or well below the stock on 2030 price-to-earnings," the firm reportedly said.

Goldman also added that its Buy-rated peers, Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD, provide a more compelling risk-reward profile, leaving Intel with limited relative upside despite an otherwise constructive fundamental outlook. Among all the chipmakers, Goldman said that it expects AMD to gain share "given a stronger medium-term product roadmap."

INTC Vs NVDA Vs AVGO Vs AMD: Street Consensus

Based on data from Koyfin, Wall Street analysts' estimates peg the 12-month average price target for INTC at $96.07, indicating nearly 28% downside from its previous close. Of the 49 analysts covering the stock, 32 have a ‘Hold’ rating on the stock, while 13 analysts have a ‘Buy’ or higher rating. The rest rate INTC a ‘Sell.’

Meanwhile, the 12-month average price target for NVDA is $298.93, indicating nearly 53% upside from its last close. Of the 62 analysts covering the stock, a whopping 59 have a ‘Buy’ rating on the company.

Estimates for AVGO also indicate an upside potential of more than 38% from its last close, with the 12-month average price target at $523.73 based on 48 analyst ratings. Of those, 44 rate AVGO a ‘Buy’ or more.

While AMD’s 12-month average price target of $500.40 indicates about a 6% downside, 42 of 51 analysts covering the stock have a ‘Buy’ or higher rating.

NVDA shares have climbed about 3.6% in 2026, while AVGO and AMD have gained 9% and 138%, respectively.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for INTC improved from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, sentiment was ‘bearish’ for NVDA, AVGO, and AMD at the time of writing.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.