Intel (INTC.US) 18A process chip's performance skyrocketed and was upgraded to “buy” by Melius

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Intel (INTC.US) shares rose 6.5% on Wednesday after the company announced yesterday that it had successfully delivered the first batch of products using the 18A process. Specifically, it is a chip called Panther Lake — the Intel Core Ultra Series 3. As a result, Melius Research raised Intel's rating from “hold” to “buy” and set the target price at $50.

Intel's first Panther Lake product line, Core Ultra Series 3, will power over 200 PC architectures. Pre-orders began on January 6th and will be available worldwide on January 27th. More designs are planned to be released in the first half of 2026. Advanced computing systems powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3 will be available in the first quarter of 2026.

The Core Ultra Series 3 has 180 TOPS of computing power and is capable of handling 70 billion parameter models. Considering the challenges of cloud computing in terms of performance, privacy, security, cost efficiency, and data control, this series of chips provides strong support for localized computing.

Melius analyst Ben Reitzes wrote in an investor report: “We really appreciate Chen Liwu, but more importantly, big people like President Trump, Minister Lutnik, Huang Renxun, and even Su Zifeng value his value as a business partner.”

Intel also confirmed this week that it is developing a new processor dedicated to gaming, as well as a new gaming platform that includes hardware and software.