Northland Capital Markets analyst Gus Richard upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) from Market Perform to Outperform with a price target of $69.00.

The analyst comments "Intel sold its modem business to Apple last quarter for $1B. We estimate that this reduced opex moving forward by roughly $450M/year adding roughly $0.10 of earnings. On the call INTC also discussed steps to improve 3D NAND profitability and reduce memory CapEx investments, and evaluating a variety of partnership options that can accelerate the path to profitability and improve returns. We believe there are several Chinese companies would be ecstatic to partner with INTC and take over their NAND operations. The memory group lost $500M last quarter, a $0.40/share annual loss run rate. We estimate on average the memory group losses $1B/year. Finally, on the call INTC announced a $20B share buy back. Assuming a $50 price it would drive a 10% share count reduction."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Intel click here. For more ratings news on Intel click here.

Shares of Intel closed at $54.30 yesterday.