Intel Corporation (INTC), a Dow component, rose to a 20-year high in January but has subsequently lost ground, reporting a 16% loss year to date. While the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) has increased more than 50%, inefficient management, subpar execution, and rollout delays have been the driving forces behind an institutional flight. Unfortunately, there are no indications that the dinosaur of a tech giant has started along a road that would prevent losses of the same magnitude in 2021.
Rivals have taken advantage of Intel's errors to gain valuable market share. Due to their lightning-fast CPUs and low pricing, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) have seen a surge in their respective stock values, reaching all-time highs. Unsettlingly, Apple Inc. (AAPL) is said to be increasing the manufacturing of 2021 CPUs since it can now smell the wounded beast. In the upcoming years, Intel may face its greatest danger from that competitive assault.
Despite the downturn, bottom-fishers are becoming more aggressive on Intel, with price action falling towards support levels that supported upswings in 2018, 2019, and March 2020. In actuality, Intel stock made a comeback from that point in October and has since recovered by nearly 16% through December, closing the significant October price gap between $48 and $53. However, since it's December and many are thinking about selling their least profitable stocks to lower their yearly tax payments, now is not the time to purchase Intel.
The battered chip titan may have a better performance going into 2021, and the January Effect might even help the greatest losers from the previous year. Even then, a trading strategy may be more effective than a long-term investment since, barring a major reorganization plan by the corporation, the Jan. 21 earnings release is not anticipated to spark purchasing enthusiasm. That doesn't appear to be possible given that management has stubbornly refused to acknowledge a problem.
The current Hold rating is based on 4 Buy and 14 Hold recommendations, reflecting a decline in Wall Street consensus throughout 2020. What's more, 5 of the 24 experts who are following the situation advise shareholders to reduce stakes and take a stand.
Reorganizing a struggling company is a big and upsetting process done in an effort to get it back on track to profitability. Changing management, reducing budgets, and laying off employees are just a few examples of what it may entail.