Macquarie analyst Deepon Nag upgraded Intel to Oupterform and raised his price target to $35 from $34 on shares. The analyst believes the combination of easier comps and moderating competition in tablets and smartphones should result in a PC shipment growth acceleration into CY16. Additionally, Nag said Intel has been undershipping end-demand for all of 2015, which adds to estimates and potential upside as the PC supply chain replenishes inventories.

Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Intel with an In Line rating and $40 price target. The firm views the risks for Intel as balanced. On the negative side, the center of gravity of computing is drifting away from Intel's x86 standard, the company is seeing competition not just from traditional processor companies, but also its own customers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm noted, however, that on the positive side, Intel is one of only three companies in the world that can make leading edge transistors at scale, and the only one in the U.S. that can.