Average Had Expected Intel To Report A Profit

Estimating that one PC sale is lost for every 2.5 tablets sold, FBR said tablets could cut PC sales by up to 28 million this year alone. Nonetheless, FBR praised Intel as a "top notch" chip company and said it could keep PC sales hot .

Equities research analysts at FBR Capital (NASDAQ: FBCM) raised their price target on shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research issued note to investors on Wednesday. They currently have a “market perform” rating on the company’s shares.

IDC's PC shipment numbers "bode well for Intel," according to a report by analysts at investment bank BMO Capital Markets. Separately, analysts at Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC) reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Intel in a research note to investors on Monday.

Overall, Intel appears to be "executing really well," said Srini Pajjuri, an analyst with investment bank Credit Agricole Securities. Intel Corporation is a semiconductor chip maker, developing advanced integrated digital technology products, primarily integrated circuits, for industries, such as computing and communications. Nonetheless, he said, despite Intel's upbeat assessment of the personal computer market, sales of many types of components used in PCs appear to be lagging, which may suggest a weakness in the market that Intel has yet to see. It operates in nine operating segments: PC Client Group, Data Center Group, Embedded and Communications Group, Digital Home Group, Ultra-Mobility Group, NAND Solutions Group, Wind River Software Group, Software and Services Group and Digital Health Group. During the fiscal year ended December 26, 2009 (fiscal 2009), it acquired Wind River Systems, Inc. In May 2010, Micron Technology, Inc. acquired Numonyx B.V. In November 2010, the Company acquired CognoVision.

Intel, whose finances are closely watched as a key barometer of the tech industry's health, has turned in a succession of record quarterly earnings since the recession. That market is being heavily challenged by smartphones and tablets, which now use chips made by Intel's competitors based on designs from British firm ARM. Shares of Intel opened at 23.40 on Wednesday. Intel has a 52 week low of $18.77 and a 52 week high of $23.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.56 and its 200-day moving average is $21.68. The company has a market cap of $122.9 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74.

"For the moment, PCs have taken a back seat to a range of other devices competing for the shrinking consumer and business budgets," according to a report last week by IDC, a market research firm based in Framingham, Mass.

Lately, Intel has benefited from the misfortune of its competitor, Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale. Last month, AMD cut its third-quarter revenue and profit forecast because manufacturing problems at a German plant it uses have hindered sales of AMD's chips. Estimating that AMD's troubles could result in several hundred million dollars in lost sales, analysts at Raymond James recently advised their clients that "Intel is primed to capitalize on AMD's supply issues."