Intel Corp.’s share price up, posts upbeat third-quarter sales forecasts amid increasing PC demand

The worlds largest semiconductors manufacturer – Intel Corp. projected third-quarter sales that surpassed the initial analysts forecasts. The optimistic outlook fuels optimism that the companys sales will start to recover after a two-year slump.

One of the analysts, who work at S&P Capital IQ – Mr. Angelo Zino commented the companys forecast for Bloomberg, saying: “It finally looks like the worst of it is over, especially in the more mature markets. You’re starting to see the stabilization of the consumer but I don’t think you’re ever going to get back to where a consumer has two or three PCs.”

Intel Corp. made an official statement saying that it expects a 14.4-billion-dollar revenue in the current period, plus or minus 500 million dollars. This projection beats the analysts estimates of 14.1-billion-dollar sales. In addition, 20 billion dollars were added by the semiconductor maker to its stock-buyback program, including 4 billion dollars planned for the third quarter.

According to the companys statement, a record number of microprocessors were shipped over the second fiscal quarter that led to a 40% increase in its profit. All this was considered by some analysts as a sign that Intel Corp. is demonstrating managements confidence about certain business trends.

The current Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corp. – Mr. Brian Krzanich said in a conference call that was cited by the Wall Street Journal: “The installed base of PCs that are at least four years old is now roughly 600 million units, and we are seeing clear signs of a refresh in the enterprise and small and medium businesses.”

The second-quarter revenue of the company rose by 8% from a year ago to 13.8 billion dollars and surpassed the 13.7-billion-dollar revenue predictions of analysts. The earnings per share increased by 41% to 55 cents beating the estimates that amounted to 52 cents.

Intel Corp. was 0.70% up to close at 31.71 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +32.46%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 38 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Intel Corp. have a median target of 30.00, with a high estimate of 40.00 and a low estimate of 17.00. The median estimate represents a -5.39% decrease from the last price of 31.71.