Intel Stock Bucks Trump Tariff Selloff On Report Of TSMC Joint Venture: Retail Turns More Bullish

While TSMC won’t invest capital in the JV, it will pick up a 20% stake in exchange for providing chipmaking expertise and training Intel’s employees.

Shares of Intel Corp. (INTC) rose more than 2% on Thursday and extended gains during after-market hours after a media report suggested that the company has reached a preliminary agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) to set up a joint foundry venture.

According to a report by The Information, the joint venture will manage Intel’s foundry business. While TSMC won’t invest capital in the JV, it will pick up a 20% stake in exchange for providing chipmaking expertise and training Intel’s employees.

A previous report suggested that TSMC had reached out to other U.S. chipmaking companies – Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) – to join forces for the Intel foundry JV.

Nvidia and TSMC both shot down the JV reports a few days later, though.

Intel’s latest filings show that the foundry business has property and plant equipment with a book value of $108 billion.

While Intel had no full-time CEO when TSMC’s deliberations were ongoing, it now has one in Lip-Bu Tan.

Tan has vowed to do a manufacturing and cultural overhaul at Intel.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Intel entered the ‘bullish’ (72/100) territory from ‘neutral’ a day ago, showing increased optimism among investors on the platform.

One bullish user joked that Intel’s stock could surge over 30% if the TSMC rumors are confirmed.

According to data from Koyfin, the average price target for Intel is $22.90, according to Koyfin data, implying a 2% upside from current levels.

Of the 45 analyst calls, two recommend 'Buy,' 40 have a 'Hold' rating, while three brokerages advise 'Sell' or 'Strong Sell.'

Intel's stock has gained almost 12% year-to-date.

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