Calling All Value Investors: Intel Shares Are About to Take Off
Back in June, our Chief Investment Strategist, Louis Basenese, discussed how mature blue-chip technology stocks are the cheapest they’ve been in over 25 years. And he mentioned that Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) was an especially solid value play.
Well, the good news is that the stock is still trading around the same price today. So there’s still time to scoop up some shares on the cheap…
But don’t expect shares to stay at these low levels much longer.
Intel announced new game-changing developments at its Intel Developer Forum (IDF) this week. And once Wall Street takes notice, shares should catapult very quickly.
Here’s a quick breakdown of three important revelations that should give shares some upward momentum…
#1. “Ivy Bridge” powered computers are just around the corner.
Intel says that its new Ivy Bridge chip (which is used to power computers) is on track to replace all previous Sandy Bridge chips by mid-2012. Essentially, it’s the world’s first 3-D transistor.
The new 3-D design allows the company to get more speed out of its microprocessors than traditional 2-D chips, while taking up less space and using less power.
Better yet, at the conference, laptop manufacturers like Foxconn (TPE: 2354), Pegatron (TPE: 4938) and Inventec (TPE: 2356) were already showing off their MacBook Air competitors with Ivy Bridge chips baked in.
#2. A revolutionary “Haswell” chip is already in the works.
The Ivy Bridge chip might be making its debut in PCs. But that’s not stopping Intel from getting a jumpstart on its successor – “Haswell.”
This new chip has a similar build to Ivy Bridge, so it measures just 22 nanometers. But it uses even less power. More specifically, it uses 20 times less power than Intel’s current Sandy Bridge chips. That means it could keep computers running for a full 24 hours.
In fact, because the energy drain is so low, it would allow a laptop to run on solar power alone. Based on current progress, the chip is on track to hit shelves in 2013.
#3. A timely partnership With Google was announced.
Intel had been struggling to gain a foothold in the mobile space until it teamed up with Google.
The timing for Intel couldn’t be more perfect, too. Consider that by 2015, In-Stat predicts sales of smartphones to hit 850 million units, and Gartner expects tablet sales to catapult to 294 million – a 320% jump from this year’s forecast.
As eWeek says, “With Google, Intel now has a partner whose operating system is in a wide range of mobile devices from multiple vendors, from HTC and Samsung to LG Electronics and Sony.”
To top it off, if Google’s recent bid to acquire Motorola (NYSE: MMI) gets a nod from regulators, Intel would also gain direct access to the mega popular Droid lineup.
Bottom line: These new developments are bound to raise awareness on Wall Street in the near future. And Intel has already demonstrated growth despite a general slowdown in PC sales. So I’m sure you can imagine the upside once the Google partnership kicks off and these revolutionary chips are implemented in mobile devices across the board.
Good investing,
Justin Fritz
Related Topics: Stocks, Tech and Innovation
