Last week's move in Intel was undeniably strong. A 10% jump on Friday and nearly 18% gain for the week tells me the market is clearly repricing Intel's strategic direction, especially with the renewed optimism around its foundry ambitions. The talk about Apple potentially tapping Intel for advanced-node production is a powerful sentiment driver — even if nothing is confirmed, the improved supply-chain "visibility" alone is enough to shift expectations.

That said, the stock has already doubled year-to-date, and that naturally raises the question of whether the easy portion of the run is already done. From my perspective, this surge is less about short-term momentum and more about the market acknowledging a multi-year turnaround story. If the foundry reboot is real and large customers like Apple $Apple(AAPL)$  or even smaller AI chip players come in, it fundamentally changes Intel's revenue mix, relevance, and long-term valuation.

At the $40 level, I'm not rushing to sell into strength. Instead, I'm treating this zone as a place to reassess my position size and risk exposure rather than outright exit. If Intel were running purely on hype, I would be more cautious, but this rally is rooted in structural catalysts — capacity expansion, cost discipline, and potential anchor customers. For me, trimming lightly is optional, but I still lean toward holding rather than locking in profits aggressively.

Looking ahead, I view Intel's $Intel(INTC)$   transformation as a high-risk, high-reward narrative. The foundry business is capital-intensive, extremely competitive, and dominated by TSMC $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$  , so Intel has a narrow path. But if execution improves and advanced-node yields stabilize, the upside could be significant. A successful pivot would re-establish Intel not just as a PC-centric company but as a core infrastructure provider in the AI and semiconductor ecosystem.

So overall, I'm not calling the run "finished" for the year, even if short-term pullbacks are possible after such a steep climb. For now, I'm staying constructive, holding my position, and watching for concrete updates from Intel's foundry roadmap, execution progress, and potential customer wins. Those will ultimately determine whether this rebound evolves into a full-scale multi-year turnaround.

As a retail investor, I focus mainly on the US and Singapore markets, combining a mix of technical trading and long-term investing strategies. I enjoy analyzing charts, spotting patterns, and making calculated moves based on both market sentiment and fundamentals. While I'm not a professional, I treat my portfolio seriously and continue to learn and grow with each trade. If you're also navigating the markets and enjoy discussing stocks, options, or market trends, feel free to follow me. Let's learn and grow together as a community.

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