Intel's Stock Surges After Barclays Turns Bullish

Shares of Intel Corp. ran up 1.5% in morning trade Tuesday, after Barclays turned bullish on the chip maker, citing improving PC trends, increasing diversification and attractive valuation. Analyst Blayne Curtis raised his rating to overweight from equal weight, and boosted his stock price target to $45--19% above current levels--from $38. Curtis said the improving PC market was a factor in the upgrade, but he was also upbeat about how diversification helped reduce Intel's exposure to the PC market to slightly below 50% of its revenue. "We believe Intel will be able to drive increasing top-line growth for the first time in a half decade as PC declines are moderating and a reduced portion of the overall mix...while data center growth continues [more than] 10%," Curtis wrote in a note to clients. Intel's stock has run up 9.8% year to date, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has soared 23% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tacked on 4.3%.