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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) stock fell further in Monday's premarket trading after plunging 28.58% on Friday, as disappointing fourth-quarter guidance and concerns over persistent PC market weakness and memory-related pressures fueled fears of a prolonged slowdown extending into 2027.
The move came even as S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% and Nasdaq futures also traded higher, keeping the focus on Intel-specific concerns rather than the broader market.
Intel beat third-quarter expectations with 52 cents in EPS on $16.51 billion in revenue, but its fourth-quarter outlook came in well below Wall Street estimates.
The company guided adjusted EPS to 25 cents, compared with the 43-cent consensus, and revenue to $15 billion-$16 billion, versus about $17.05 billion expected.
Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya downgraded Intel to Neutral from Buy, arguing that the company faces a multi-quarter challenge balancing PC weakness against stronger AI data-center demand.
Arya told CNBC on Friday that Intel's data-center business is growing rapidly, but the company remains more exposed to PCs, where IT budgets are under pressure as customers redirect spending toward AI.
He said Intel's strategy of investing in manufacturing and expanding external foundry demand makes sense, but those investments require substantial upfront capital and could take three to five years to generate meaningful returns.
Arya said AI demand should remain strong but prefers to wait for more evidence of external customer wins and continued data-center progress.
Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead took a more constructive view and said Intel's longer-term foundry thesis remains intact despite the selloff.
Moorhead told CNBC on Friday that investors are primarily betting on Intel's ability to manufacture chips for outside customers rather than on its PC business.
He expects a better manufacturing setup in 2027 as Intel aligns server and PC products more closely with its 18A and 18A-P processes.
Moorhead also expects deferred PC demand to return once memory pricing stabilizes, with more optimism for 2028 than 2027.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh maintained an Overweight rating while trimming his price forecast.
Vinh told CNBC on Friday that the near-term PC outlook is disappointing and also cited a fab incident in Israel that created about a 200-basis-point gross-margin headwind.
However, he sees the longer-term opportunity in foundry, advanced packaging and server CPUs.
Vinh expects more than $30 billion of external foundry and packaging opportunities by 2030 and projects Intel's data-center business to grow about 60% next year.
He said component demand could fall 25%-30% against a roughly 10% decline in PC units, but believes foundry and server CPU growth can eventually offset that weakness.
Intel shares trade 32.6% below their 20-day simple moving average (SMA), 35.7% below the 50-day SMA and 25.2% below the 200-day SMA.
The 20-day SMA remains below the 50-day SMA, signaling short-term weakness. However, the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA, suggesting the longer-term trend has not fully reversed.
Meanwhile, Intel's relative strength index (RSI) stands at 25, indicating oversold conditions. Although this could support a short-term rebound, it does not guarantee a recovery.
The stock has gained 66.48% over the past year despite its recent decline.
Traders are watching resistance near $86.86 and support around $32.89, the stock's 52-week low.
The stock carries a consensus Hold rating and an average analyst price forecast of $96.33.
On Oct. 30, UBS and JPMorgan maintained Neutral ratings while lowering their price forecasts to $80. Freedom Broker downgraded Intel to Hold and reduced its forecast to $90.
INTC Stock Price Activity: Intel shares were down 1.55% at $64.74 during premarket trading on Monday, according to market data.
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