Intel shares close lower on Wednesday, company to invest $5 billion in a facility in Israel

According to a statement by Israel’s Economy Minister Eli Cohen on Wednesday, Intel plans a $5 billion investment in its Kiryat Gat facility located in the southern part of the country, as it seeks to bolster production. Plant enhancement is to begin later this year, while the process is expected to be completed in 2020.

Intel shares closed lower for the third time in the past eight trading sessions on Wednesday. The stock went down 0.82% ($0.38) to $45.94, after touching an intraday high at $47.04, or a price level not seen since February 5th ($47.26).

In the week ended on February 18th the shares of the technology company added 3.66% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first gain out of three weeks.

However, due to yesterdays drop, the stock has extended its loss to 4.57% so far during the current month, following a 4.29% surge in January. The latter has been a second consecutive month of gains.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NASDAQ-listed tech giant rose 22.50% following another 5.28% surge in 2016.

Intel has already announced it intended to enhance the Kiryat Gat plant to ten-nanometer technology from twenty two-nanometer at present.

In 2014, the US tech giant was awarded a state grant of 5% of the $6 billion investment it made to upgrade the same facility. Back then Intel was also granted a lower corporate tax rate of 5% for a period of ten years.

Intel could be awarded a further grant of up to 10% of the $5 billion it plans to invest in the latest upgrade at the facility.

Reuters reminded that the semiconductor company had invested as much as $17 billion in Israel since 1974 and had 10 000 employees in the country, with 60% of that headcount being engaged in research and development.

According to CNN Money, the 34 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Intel Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $53.50, with a high estimate of $60.00 and a low estimate of $38.00. The median estimate is a 16.46% surge compared to the closing price of $45.94 on February 21st.

The same media also reported that 24 out of 39 surveyed investment analysts had rated Intel Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 3 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Intel stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $46.04
R2 – $46.15
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $46.25
R4 (Long Breakout) – $46.56
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $46.92
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $47.06

S1 – $45.84
S2 – $45.73
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $45.63
S4 (Short Breakout) – $45.32
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $44.96
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $44.82

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Intel Corporation (INTC) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $45.40
R1 – $46.75
R2 – $47.95
R3 – $49.30
R4 – $50.66

S1 – $44.20
S2 – $42.85
S3 – $41.65
S4 – $40.46