Intel shares climbed by as much as 2.38% to $32.69 on Thursday after positive commentary from CNBC’s Jim Cramer and a price target increase from analysts at Citi. Their target moves from $31 to $35 per share, although they maintain their Neutral rating on the chip maker.
Intel price target upped by Citi
In a report dated June 30, Citi analyst Christopher Danely said demand for PCs is improving as a result of re-stocking, citing his firm’s checks. Chips for PCs contribute about 55% of Intel’s revenue and half of its earnings per share, and falling PC sales have been plaguing the company for quite some time now.
Danely also pointed to the reports that Intel won some orders for the iPhone 7. He estimates that the company has stolen about 25% of the orders for the iPhone 7 from competitor Qualcomm and pegs the average selling price for these chips at no higher than $5. This would amount to about $150 million in calendar 2016 revenue and $300 million in calendar 2017 revenue, he added.
The analyst believes Intel could see some benefit from its restructuring plans. Management announced recently that they aim to slash $750 million off their operating expenditures this year and $1.4 billion by the middle of next year. He believes the chip maker could cut even more costs than currently expected.
He notes that data centers and inventory are still two potential problem areas for Intel. He thinks the company’s data center business might miss this year’s sales guidance of an increase in the mid-teens on the back of pricing pressure and lower units. He’s also concerned that the company has 94 days of inventory because every time its inventory levels have been higher than 90 days, gross margins have fallen by 3% or more.
Intel moves from PCs to cars
Also today, CNBC‘s Jim Cramer said on Squawk on the Street that automobiles are the future of the technology industry and that Intel will be the key to the market. He emphasized that CEO Brian Krzanich is moving out of PCs and into cars, and he sees this as a very important move, especially right now as the market moves toward autonomous driving.
His comments follow unconfirmed reports that Intel and Mobileye have signed a deal to work on self-driving car technology for BMW. According to The Street, he believes Intel is the biggest winner in the deal as Intel becomes “less and less of a PC company.” He added that Krzanich is “turning that company upside down in order to be able to get some growth” and that he thinks this is a good thing.
Cramer also had some advice for Apple based on vehicle technology, suggesting that the iPhone maker look toward acquiring a company that leads in the area of car radios such as Sirius XM or Pandora Media. Apple has been rumored to be working on a car for quite a long time now.
