Intel Shares Rise 7.9% Following Analyst Upgrades and Pricing Power

Intel shares rose 7.9% to $109.04 in morning trading on September 17, 2026. The company gained value due to positive analyst sentiment and signals of strengthening pricing power in its core CPU business.

This market movement follows a rally in the semiconductor sector. The sector gained support from a macroeconomic environment following the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16, 2026.

Analyst Sentiment and Price Targets

Market confidence in Intel increased following adjustments from financial institutions. According to an Investing.com report, Tigress Financial raised its price target for Intel to $145 from $118. Northland upgraded the stock to "Outperform" with a new price target of $120.

Strategic Partnerships and Pricing Power

Intel is in exploratory talks with SK Hynix regarding a potential manufacturing partnership. The discussions center on producing memory chips, such as High Bandwidth Memory or DRAM, at Intel's facility in Ohio or through a prospective joint venture.

Intel also intends to implement a 10% price increase for its PC CPUs starting in early October. Industry analysts interpret this planned hike as an indicator that the company is regaining pricing power within the PC hardware market.

What Is at Stake for Intel

The ability to increase margins through price hikes is important for Intel as it manages capital expenditures associated with its foundry expansion strategy. The combination of potential manufacturing synergies with SK Hynix and an improved pricing environment suggests a shift in the company's operational outlook, which has faced pressure from internal manufacturing delays and competition in the x86 processor space.