Intel Upgraded As Analyst Sees a Bounce Back This Year As Clients Restock

Intel Corp. was upgraded Monday by Macquarie Research analyst Deepon Nag, who said the fact that the chip maker undershipped in 2015 means it should benefit from restocking in 2016. He raised his rating to outperform from neutral, while keeping his stock price target at $35, which is 17% above Friday's closing price of $29.93. Nag wrote in a note to clients that his research suggests Intel has been undershipping end-demand for all of 2015, "which we believe adds potential upside to estimates as the PC supply chain replenishes processor inventories." Nag said the stock has an attractive dividend yield, "which we believe provides investors protection in the event of a global downturn." At Friday's closing price for the stock, the current quarterly dividend of 24 cents a share implies an annual yield of 3.21%, compared with the overall dividend yield of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.73%, according to FactSet. Intel's stock, which slipped 0.1% in premarket trade, has tumbled 14% over the past three months, while the Dow has lost 8.8%.