INTC Stock Is Up Over 190% YTD, And Michael Burry Wants To Short It: ‘Poster Child For The Top’

• Burry earlier said the valuations across semiconductor stocks and the broader tech sector are stretched.
• Chip companies “will cycle, hard. Intel as the poster child for the top would be poetic,” he said.
• INTC stock has gained a staggering 193% year-to-date.

After sounding a loud warning for tech and chip stocks, noted investor Michael Burry on Tuesday said he is considering shorting Intel stock.

Government-backed Intel has had a phenomenal run lately, building on last year's cues, including a new CEO appointment, the government's pickup of a 10% stake, and an Nvidia partnership. INTC stock is up a staggering 470% from its 52-week low and 193% year-to-date.

On Monday, Burry said valuations across semiconductor stocks and the broader tech sector are stretched and increased or added to his bearish bets on the semiconductor ETF (SOXX), Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) and Nvidia (NVDA).

“I am considering opening a short in INTC. Puts are too expensive. For now I am content shorting more of the SOXX,” Burry said in his trading notes on Substack on Tuesday.

He said “FOMO” or fear of missing out was clearly at play. “These companies are getting dozens of years of earnings added to their valuations within the span of days because the next year or two looks locked and loaded. These are semiconductors. They will cycle, hard. Intel as the poster child for the top would be poetic.”

Strong Q1 Results Validate Chip Upcycle 

In this earnings season, chip companies that have reported so far, including Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, TSMC, and Marvell Technologies, have posted stellar earnings, underscoring how the rapid data center buildout is driving a boom in chip sales.

Last quarter, Intel’s revenue rose 7% to $13.6 billion, beating Wall Street estimates by about 9%. The Data Center and AI segment posted particularly strong sales, which rose 22% to $5.05 billion. 

Intel Foundry’s operating loss narrowed to $2.4 billion, improving by $72 million quarter over quarter, supported by better yields across Intel 4, 3, and 18A processes.

On Tuesday, INTC stock rallied 13% after a report said Apple held preliminary talks with a chipmaker to produce the main chips that power Apple devices. The stock market continued its gains in the overnight session, with AMD’s upbeat results pushing major chip stocks higher. 

Retail, Analyst View On INTC

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for INTC was ‘bearish’ as of early Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day. “Intel at $500 dollar next year is COMPLETELY reasonable,” said a trader.

“$INTC the AMD earnings validate 2 things: 1. CPU demand and shortage are crazy with server CPU TAM to DOUBLE this year. The one with capacity (Intel) will be the winner. 2. We're still at a very very early stage of agentic AI. When CPU orchestrates everything AI, we will see Intel worth the combination of TSMC and AMD.”

Currently, 30 of 48 analysts recommend ‘Hold’ for INTC, 13 recommend ‘Buy’ or higher, and three recommend ‘Sell’ or lower, according to Koyfin. Their average price target of $79.05 implies a 27% downside from the stock’s last close.

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