Buy the rumours, Buy INTC ! Stop & Read !
By the time you read this post, $Intel(INTC)$ share price might have staged a first phase recovery of sort.
Looking at INTC’s pre-market index, it is poised to open higher on Wed, 16 Sep 2026 at +4.99% or $101.99 per share. (see below)
Key Catalyst.
It was reported in the media that SKHY is in talks with INTC about a deal that would see it manufacture memory chips on US soil for the first time, - according to 3 people familiar with the discussions said.
Drilling down further, the potential playbook includes:
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SKHY would lease part of INTC's long-planned chipmaking facility in Ohio.
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SKHY could form a venture with INTC, along with major cloud firms that are keen to lock in memory chip supplies.
SKHY is also opened to look at other ways to structure the deal, Reuters reported.
The talks are exploratory, and no decisions have been made.
Honestly, a deal of any sort (with SKHY) would relieve pressure on INTC, which is still trying very hard to ramp up its foundry business.
If a deal is struck, it would be a big win for INTC, which has been looking to gain marquee customers for its manufacturing, or foundry business, that is a key pillar of CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s strategy.
The arrangement could also advance US government’s efforts to bring more semiconductor manufacturing to America’s shores.
It will also mark a big win for the Trump administration, which has been ‘pressurizing’ chipmakers to build in the US; but without much success.
This as relentless investment in AI and data centres fuels an acute shortage of memory chips.
SKHY is one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component of $NVIDIA(NVDA)$’s chips.
It also produces other types of memory chips that are crucial for AI applications eg. NAND flash, DRAM etc...
Potential Headwinds.
A deal between INTC & SKHY to manufacture HBM could face opposition from the South Korean government because the technologies are considered sensitive, Reuters reported, citing three sources.
Asked about a potential SKHY plan to produce chips in the US, South Korea's trade ministry said any decision would be at the company's discretion but if it involved a "national core technology" it would be subject to a review under the Industrial Technology Protection Act.
In a statement to Reuters, SKHY stated that it is "reviewing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, to strengthen the competitiveness of its memory business," but added that "no matters have been determined at this stage.
INTC declined to comment on what it called speculation but added that it was continuing with investments in Ohio to ready the site.
In the same stride, US Commerce Department also did not respond to a request for comment.
Reasons To Base in US.
Manufacturing semiconductor chips in the US costs much more than in South Korea.
Building factories in the US incur much higher labour and construction expenses, and with most chip suppliers based in Asia, US production costs go up even further.
Even so, SKHY, which recently completed a secondary listing on Nasdaq in July 2026 and already has a chip packaging facility under construction in Indiana, has good reasons to pursue fabricating chips in the US.
In July 2026, SK Group, Chairman, Chey Tae-won said that the company faces enormous pressure and lobbying from customers and countries to supply more chips.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has said in July 2026, that SKHY faces strong pressure from customers and governments to increase chip supplies.
He said the company should build a factory in the US, where possible.
As for INTC, a deal with SKHY would ease some of the financial strain, which is part-owned by the US government.
In 2022, INTC announced that it would invest up to $100 billion to build potentially the world's largest chipmaking complex in Ohio, with production scheduled to begin in 2025.
However, completion of the site's 2 plants has since been delayed to 2030 & 2031, respectively.
Therefore, a SKHY’s lease or joint venture could put part of INTC’s delayed campus to work and reduce pressure on its balance sheet.
It would be a big win for INTC in every sense of the word.
It is a fact that INTC does not sell memory chips, but it does sell manufacturing capacity.
Most US chip companies outsource semiconductor manufacturing to $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$.
But INTC is capable of both making its own chips and amassing meaningful business for its foundry unit, through which it makes chips for other industry players.
Price Target Upgrades.
For September 2026, there were 2 revisions on INTC from financial institutions:
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On 15 Sep 2026, Tiger Financial raised INTC’s price target (PT) to $145 from $118 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying +49.27% upside from the prior close.
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On 09 Sep 2026, Piper Sandler has revised INTC’s PT to $122 from $100, over a “neutral” rating.
Is it possible that these financial institutions are on to something that basic investors like us are unaware ?
INTC - 16 Sep 2026 intraday trading
Technical Analysis.
Before plunging headling into INTC, it would be prudent to technically take a look at where INTC is heading.
The usual technical indicators used are (a) Simple Moving Average of 20-day, 50-day and 200-day, (b) MACD and (c) RSI.
(1) Simple Moving Average (SMA).
On 16 Sep 2026, INTC’s intraday stock price was $101.61 per share.
This is higher than its 3 SMAs of (a) 20-day ($94.27), (b) 50-day ($97.21) & (c) 200-day ($76.47).
Overall, it shows that the stock is in a strong long-term bull market with stock price well above its upward-sloping 200-day SMA and also recovering above both the 50-day & 20-day SMAs - a positive short- and medium-term momentum.
(2) MACD.
The MACD line (+0.83) is above the Zero line, while the signal line (-0.31) is below, a clear indication of a transitional but generally constructive configuration.
With the MACD line sitting above the Signal line also indicate that recent price momentum is stronger than intermediate-term momentum - supporting a bullish bias.
However with the signal line is still below zero, broader momentum recovery is not yet fully established.
The signal line’s negative position indicates that the intermediate-term trend is still carrying the effects of the earlier price decline and volatility.
INTC’s positive divergence of +1.14 means that short-term momentum is accelerating relative to the smoothed momentum trend.
(3) RSI.
With its 14-day RSI at 55.33, it is in the so-called “bullish-neutral” zone.
The stock is neither overextended nor depressed, leaving plenty of technical "room" for the stock to move in either direction without immediate exhaustion fears, aligning with the current short-term rebound observed on the price chart.
Is It A Buy ?
With INTC’s favourable technical indicators readings, does it mean INTC is a “buy” now ?
I have my reservations. Here’s why.
On 16 Sep 2026, US Federal Reserves finally raised the interest rate to 3.75% - 4.00%, after holding off for the longest time.
In my post dated 15 Sep 2026, I have shared salient examples of the closed relationship between interest rate hikes and the S&P 500 movement. Click here ! to read or refresh memory.
In addition, I think CNBC’s James Cramer managed to succinctly summed up how a rational investor should behave.
He cautioned buying stocks after the Fed’s first rate hike in 3 years means investors are “fighting the Federal Reserve.”
His reasoning is straightforward:
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The latest ¼ point (+0.25%) increase to a 3.75%–4.00% policy range marks the start of a broader tightening cycle until inflation and oil prices cool.
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Higher rates (a) raise borrowing costs, (b) slow economic activity and in turn, makes risk-free Treasury yields more attractive relative to equities.
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These conditions that can pressure equity valuations and reduce the number of stocks able to perform well.
What he did not mention but covered in the news print is the possibility of further interest hikes in 2026.
On Wednesday, updated dot-plot projections released by the committee showed that a strong majority of officials think another hike is possible later this year.
The dot-plot grid of individual officials’ expectations indicated that 16 of 18 Fed officials expected at least one more rate hike, with 4 of 18 thinking a 2nd one was possible, while only a couple wanted to stop after just one.
So far, there are no increases penciled in for subsequent years, with one cut each indicated for 2028 and at least one for 2029.
Coming back to INTC, the potential SKHY partnership, improving technical setup and recent price-target upgrades provide company-specific upside catalysts, but they do not insulate the stock from a higher interest rate environment.
Investors may be better served by building exposure gradually rather than chasing a sharp rebound, while watching whether INTC can sustain trade above its 20-day and 50-day SMAs.
A clear foundry customer win, further execution progress in Ohio and resilient earnings would offer stronger fundamental confirmation for a longer-term position. Agree ?
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Do you think there is still life for semiconductor HBM chip makers ?
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Do you think there will be repercussions to AI-chip makers ( $NVIDIA(NVDA)$, $Broadcom(AVGO)$, $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ with Dario, Altman, Musk calling for a slowdown in AI development & deployment?
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Is market & traders still hopeful of a possible SKHY & INTC partnership ? I think so !
With a further gain, INTC's stock price is getting higher than its SMA of 20-day and 50-day, benefitting the current negative Signal line.
Let's hope the gain is 'permanent'.
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