INTC ~+4% on JPMorgan upgrade to Neutral: Tan execution + agentic AI CPU demand, PT still $85

[LondonNewsTrader]

Broker note worth flagging while semis bounce off last week's washout.

JPMorgan (Harlan Sur) lifted Intel (INTC) to Neutral from Underweight, PT unchanged at $85. Shares were indicated roughly +4% pre-market (~$93 area) after a ~36% slide from the June peak (broader chip group was −20–25% on that same window).

Why they moved:
- Risk/reward "more balanced" with the stock near their PT after the pullback
- Execution under Lip-Bu Tan called solid in client + data-centre compute and next-gen manufacturing
- Agentic AI workloads (CPU-intensive) + tight leading-edge supply = room for positive EPS revisions into earnings season and through CY27; JPM's 2028 EPS is ~15% above Street
- Still expects a few more quarters of x86 share losses (server share already 77%→53% since their 2022 downgrade; PC 81%→68%)
- External foundry still tiny (~$1bn annualized H1 vs TSMC ~$150bn), but yields/customer engagement improving

Context on the tape: SOXX/SOXL bouncing with NVDA/AMD/MU/AVGO after the steepest weekly chip selloff in months. This is an upgrade-from-UW, not a fresh Overweight — so treat it as a relief/positioning note more than a new structural buy call.

Sources: [Investing.com on the JPM note](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... id-4957134) | [Reuters chip rebound](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... hs-4957420)

Are you adding INTC on the Neutral upgrade, or only using it as a beta proxy for the SOXX bounce? And does "agentic AI needs CPUs" change your MU/AMD hedging into LRCX/TXN this week?