Intel's 18A Process Update An 'Incremental Positive,' Says Wells Fargo: Stock Declines As Retail Investors Wait And Watch

Intel Corp.'s (INTC) stock will be in focus on Wednesday after the company announced that its 18A processing node has crossed a critical production milestone.

At the Intel Vision 2025 conference, the legendary chip maker announced that the 18A process is now in the early stages of low-volume test manufacturing runs. Essentially, this means that Intel has achieved initial customer validation.

Interestingly, Intel is on track to achieving former CEO Pat Gelsinger's target of reaching the "five nodes in four years plan" as the veteran sought to bring the company back on track.

According to The Fly, Wells Fargo analysts expressed optimism about the company's progress, calling it an "incremental positive" for the struggling chip maker.

The brokerage added that Intel could concentrate its focus on Intel developing custom solutions in the x86 ecosystem, even as Arm Holdings Plc. (ARM) architecture continues to gain market share.

"Our customers have validated that, 'Yep, 18 A is good enough for my product.' And we have to now do the 'risk' part, which is to scale it from making hundreds of units per day to thousands, tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands," said Intel's Kevin O'Buckley, the Senior Vice President of Foundry Services.

This week, Intel's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, vowed to change the chip maker's culture.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Intel remained in the 'neutral' territory.

One user said their confidence in Intel has "soared" following the event.

The average price target for Intel is $22.90, according to Koyfin data, implying a 4% 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 10% year-to-date.

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