An antitrust lawsuit has been filed on Monday by Intel Corporation against an investment company owned by SoftBank Group Corp. The US chip maker alleged that the same firm stockpiled patents to hold up tech companies with a number of lawsuits.
In the lawsuit, Intel said that Fortress Investment Group had gained control of over 1 000 US technology patents.
Intel shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Wednesday. The stock went down 0.56% ($0.29) to $51.72, after touching an intraday low at $51.21, or a price level not seen since October 18th ($51.03).
Shares of Intel Corporation have risen 10.21% so far in 2019 compared with a 19.85% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Intel’s stock went up 1.67%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
According to Intel, Fortress and other entities controlled or owned by it filed lawsuits against the chip manufacturer, alleging that almost every Intel processor produced since 2011 violated patents, which the companies had acquired from NXP Semiconductors.
“One way in which Fortress has tried to turn around its performance and justify SoftBank’s investment in it is through increased speculation on patent assertions,” the chip maker said in the lawsuit, cited by Reuters.
“Intel brings this complaint to end a campaign of anticompetitive patent aggregation by Fortress and a web of (patent assertion entities) that Fortress owns or controls,” the tech company said.
Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation
According to CNN Money, the 30 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Intel Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $55.50, with a high estimate of $65.00 and a low estimate of $38.00. The median estimate represents a 7.31% upside compared to the closing price of $51.72 on October 23rd.
The same media also reported that at least 20 out of 42 surveyed investment analysts had rated Intel Corporation’s stock as “Hold”, while 11 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 7 analysts had recommended selling the stock.
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