Why Intel stock rallied Tuesday morning

DigiTimes is reporting that Intel plans to raise prices by 10% to improve its gross margin. A Wall Street analyst issued an upgrade on Intel's improving prospects. The stock is pricey. Shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) climbed out of the gate on Monday, rising as much as 8.6%. As of 11:20 a.m. ET, the stock was still up 8.3%. The catalyst that drove the semiconductor company higher was a report that it may be raising prices, along with a corresponding upgrade from a Wall Street analyst. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » A media report emerged early Tuesday that Intel may be planning another round of price increases as the company works to improve its gross margin rather than taking market share. Intel is expected to increase the price of its CPUs by another 10% later this year, according to a report that first appeared in DigiTimes. If the report is accurate, this would mark the third such price increase this year, after hikes in the first quarter and again in July. On the heels of this news, Northland Securities analyst Gus Richard upgraded Intel to outperform (buy), from market perform (hold), with a price target of $120. For those keeping score at home, that represents potential upside of 25% compared to Friday's closing price (ahead of the Labor Day weekend). The analyst cited "material progress" in Intel's turnaround, with particular emphasis on the company's foundry ambitions. Additionally, the current CPU shortage will work to Intel's advantage, giving the chipmaker pricing power -- at least for now. Intel has previously announced plans to become the world's second-largest foundry by 2030, and while the company has certainly made progress, it still has work to do to achieve that goal. Moreover, Intel stock is pricey at 68 times forward earnings and 51 times next year's expected earnings, so there's already a lot of growth baked into today's stock price. Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $421,997!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,413,876!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 213% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of September 8, 2026. Danny Vena, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.