- Believing risk/reward has improved following a rough start to 2016, Mizuho's Vijay Rakesh has upgraded Intel (INTC +2.2%) to Buy. His target is $37.
- Rakesh: "We believe while PCs may remain soft in 2016, the market declines are moderating versus 2015. On the data center side, we believe INTC continues to dominate hyperscale and cloud, driving growth against a backdrop of flattish enterprise server markets. We believe new enterprise tablet opportunities, IoT, and handsets could be incremental upside."
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Nomura upgraded Intel last month, while arguing strong Internet capex growth will act as a 2016 tailwind. Yesterday, analysts provided mixed reactions to December sales data from Taiwanese contract manufacturers (ODMs). RBC estimated the sales of four major ODMs were down 16% Y/Y, but added notebooks were a bright spot.
- Intel is higher on a morning the Nasdaq is up 1.2%. Q4 results arrive on Thursday afternoon.