Watch These Intel Price Levels as Stock Soars After Chipmaker Names New CEO

Intel (INTC) shares soared in extended trading Wednesday after the company named former board member and chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO.

Tan, who is the former CEO of chip software company Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), will succeed interim Co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who have shared the position since Pat Gelsinger retired in December. Tan will assume the roll next Tuesday.

The development follows a report earlier Wednesday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) has approached Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) about forming a joint venture to own and run Intel’s foundry division — a unit that manufactures chips for third party customers.

Intel shares have lost more than half their value over the past 12 months, weighed down by the company’s inability to capture a greater share of the lucrative AI chip market and months of restructuring and deal rumors. The stock jumped 10% to $22.84 in the after-hours session Wednesday following news of the CEO appointment.

Below, we break down the technicals on Intel’s chart and identify crucial price levels that investors may be watching.

Potential Rangebound Bottom

Since gapping sharply lower in early August last year, Intel shares have remained mostly rangebound, potentially carving out a market bottom. 

More recently, the stock staged a short-lived rally to the closely followed 200-day moving average (MA) before retracing towards its trading floor of the past seven months.

However, the shares moved higher in Wednesday’s regular trading session and look set for further gains on Thursday.

Let’s locate three crucial overhead areas to watch on Intel’s chart amid the potential for a new trend higher and also identify a major support level worth monitoring if the stock retraces to multi-month lows.

Crucial Overhead Areas to Watch

The first overhead area to watch sits around $22. While the stock is currently projected to open above this price on Thursday, it’s worth looking if bulls can hold this level into tomorrow’s close, given its proximity to a horizontal line that links a range of comparable trading action on the chart from August last year to March this year.

A successful close above this level could see the shares rally to the $26 area. Investors who have bought recent lows may look to lock in profits near the prominent November and March peaks.

Buying above this region could propel a move to around $30. This area would likely provide resistance near the psychological round number and the low of a prior trading range on the chart that preceded the early-August gap lower.

Major Support Level Worth Monitoring

Further selling in Intel shares could see the price revisit multi-month lows around $19. Bargain hunters may seek to scoop up shares in this location near a trendline that connects multiple troughs in the stock between August and February.

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