According to a statement by Israel’s Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Tuesday, Intel Corporation (INTC) is to receive a $1 billion state grant for its most recent investment plan that envisages expansion of chip manufacturing operations in the Middle Eastern country.
Earlier this week, the tech giant informed the Israeli Finance Minister that it planned to invest nearly 40 billion shekels (or $10.87 billion*) in a new plant.
Intel shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Tuesday. The stock went down 0.36% ($0.17) to $46.54, after touching an intraday high at $46.97, or a price level not seen since January 25th ($47.43).
Shares of Intel Corporation have retreated 0.83% so far in 2019 compared with a 5.31% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Intel’s stock surged 1.67%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
Intel announced that it would submit a business plan “for continued investment in the company’s Kiryat Gat manufacturing site” located in central Israel, without revealing any details.
The planned expansion is expected to create 1 000 new job positions in the country, where Intel already employs almost 13 000 people.
“The moment the company comes to Israel and invests $10 billion, and it receives a grant of 9 percent, that means 91 percent of it stays here,” Israels Kahlon said in an interview on Army Radio, cited by Reuters.
“There are always such discounts, there are always incentives,” the Finance Minister added.
In December, Israel’s Finance Committee approved a separate 700 million shekel grant for Intel Corp in relation with the tech company’s planned expansion of production operations in the Middle Eastern country. Intel had said it intended to invest as much as $5 billion, while the Israeli government had said it expected 250 new hirings and domestic purchases for about 2.1 billion shekels.
Last year, Intel Corp’s exports from Israel increased over 8% to $4 billion, while it made product purchases for $1.7 billion from Israeli companies.
*($1 equals 3.6784 shekels)
According to CNN Money, the 33 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Intel Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $55.00, with a high estimate of $70.00 and a low estimate of $40.00. The median estimate represents an 18.18% upside compared to the closing price of $46.54 on January 29th.
The same media also reported that 16 out of 38 surveyed investment analysts had rated Intel Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 6 analysts had recommended selling the stock.
Weekly Pivot Levels
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Intel Corporation (INTC) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $47.61
R1 – $49.46
R2 – $51.89
R3 – $53.74
R4 – $55.60
S1 – $45.18
S2 – $43.33
S3 – $40.90
S4 – $38.48
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