Intel Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade From Bank of America. Here's the AI Shift Behind the Call.
Written by Daniel Sparks for The Motley Fool -> Bank of America moved Intel straight from its most bearish rating to its most bullish, skipping the middle. The thesis centers on AI shifting more spending toward central processors and chip manufacturing. After more than triplin
Bank of America moved Intel straight from its most bearish rating to its most bullish, skipping the middle.
The thesis centers on AI shifting more spending toward central processors and chip manufacturing.
After more than tripling in 2026, the stock already reflects a lot of optimism.
Most analyst rating changes move a single notch. So when one of the more closely followed semiconductor analysts skips the middle rating and jumps two rungs at once, it's worth a closer look -- not necessarily as a reason to buy, but as a window into how the thinking around artificial intelligence (AI) spending may be changing.
That's what happened on June 11, when Bank of America 's Vivek Arya double-upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to buy from underperform, lifting his price target to $135 from $96. Banks tend to reserve a move like that for moments when the thesis they had been betting against breaks. And it came after Intel had already more than tripled in 2026 -- less a call on a forgotten stock than a bet that the turnaround has further to run.
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Intel shares rose about 6% in the following session, closing near $125 as of this writing.
The more useful question isn't whether the target is right. It's what the upgrade says about the next phase of the AI trade.
