BUZZ - JPMorgan upgrades Intel rating to "Neutral", shares rise

October 19 - ** Chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) shares rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading to $93.41

** JPMorgan upgraded the stock from "Underweight" to "Neutral," expecting that the growth of proxy artificial intelligence workloads and a tight supply of advanced chips will support raising 2027 earnings estimates

** The brokerage said that under the leadership of CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the company's execution has improved, chip competitiveness has strengthened, manufacturing progress has been made, and there are growth opportunities in the ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) sector

** In addition, the bank is closely monitoring the company’s execution in data center CPUs, AI strategy, expansion of foundry clients, winning ASIC design contracts, and strengthening its data center networking product portfolio

** The stock has an average rating of "Hold" from 49 analysts; the median price target is $111 — data compiled by LSEG

** As of the close of the previous trading day, the stock had gained 143.5% so far this year

(To assist non-English speakers, Reuters provides automated translations of its reports into several other languages. As automated translation may contain errors or may not capture the required context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text and provides it solely for reader convenience. Reuters accepts no responsibility for any damage or loss caused by the use of automated translation.)