Jim Cramer has named plenty of favorite stocks over the years. His recent pick was trading in the low $20s less than a year ago.
On June 30, the “Mad Money” host told viewers that Intel is now his top pick in the market. He credited CEO Lip-Bu Tan with pulling off one of the sharpest turnarounds in recent times.
The timing stands out. Intel shares have more than tripled in 2026. Then, in the days right around Cramer’s call, it fell sharply.
That combination is forcing a blunt question for investors. Is there still room to buy, or did the easy money already get made?
Cramer says Lip-Bu Tan has “turned this company around”
Cramer did not mince words.
“Intel is currently my favorite stock. CEO Lip-Bu Tan has turned this company around,” he said on a Mad Money episode on June 30, CNBC reported.
That comment reflected a bigger point.
Cramer told viewers that Wall Street is now rewarding companies that supply the AI boom and punishing the hyperscalers that fund it.
He named Intel (INTC), Micron (MU), Marvell (MRVL), SanDisk (SNDK), and AMD as the quarter’s biggest winners.
It is also worth noting that Cramer’s call has money behind it.
According to CNBC, Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio behind the CNBC Investing Club, initiated a position in Intel on June 3. The Trust has also added to it twice since then.
Intel shares have surged more than 205% in 2026 as CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s turnaround gains Wall Street attention
Intel’s run from left-for-dead to market leader
Intel’s turnaround has a clear starting point.
In August 2025, the U.S. government disclosed a roughly 10% equity stake in Intel. NVIDIA followed weeks later with its own $5 billion investment.
The first quarter of 2026 backed up that bet. Intel posted revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% from the same quarter last year.
Non-GAAP earnings per share also came in at $0.29, far ahead of the estimate Wall Street had penciled in, according to the company’s SEC filing.
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Intel’s dual identity as a chip designer and manufacturer is also becoming a selling point.
AMD relies almost entirely on Taiwan Semiconductor for production. Intel, by contrast, is building a more localized supply chain.
The supply chain is backed by federal subsidies and outside investment from Nvidia and SoftBank, according to TradingView.
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That structural bet has already drawn outside money. In June, Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, disclosed a multi-million-dollar position in Intel.
Insiders have been buying too. Chief financial officer David Zinsner picked up 37,015 shares on June 1, 2026.
The purchase is part of a broader pattern of insider transactions leaning toward buying, 24/7 Wall St reported.
The valuation gap Cramer didn’t mention
Here is the complication. Intel closed at $120.35onJuly 2, down 6.54% over the prior five trading days. This happened even though the stock remains up more than205% for the year.
At that price, Intel trades at more than 150 times forward earnings. That leaves little room for a disappointing quarter.
Wall Street’s targets are scattered. The average consensus among 39 analysts is $100.18, well below where the stock trades now.
Citi has been more confident at $130, and Bank of America raised its target to $160 from $135 on June 23.
What could keep Intel’s rally going
- Foundry execution stays on track. 18A yields are hitting targets, and both the Apple chip deal and Elon Musk‘s Terafab project keep ramping up through the rest of 2026.
- Server chip demand keeps climbing as AI workloads send more business Intel’s way, which is the core of Cramer’s thesis.
- More banks follow Citi and Bank of America in setting triple-digit price targets, narrowing the gap between Intel’s stock and Wall Street’s consensus.
- Second-quarter guidance, which calls for $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in revenue, comes in without a hitch.
Why some investors are staying cautious anyway
Not every desk is on board. Deutsche Bank‘s note pointed to Bank of America being cautious.
KeyBanc has also warned of buyer exhaustion as the rally has stretched further than fundamentals alone would justify.
The risk is clear. A stock priced for such strong expectations has little cushion if a single quarter disappoints.
That risk is compounded by Intel’s foundry business, which, although improving, has not yet proven it can turn a profit on its own.
For readers weighing buying options, the practical takeaway is that Cramer’s endorsement is a signal about sentiment, not a guarantee about price.
Investors who follow it should watch the same things the CNBC Investing Club is watching: 18A yields, the Apple and Terafab timelines, and whether second-quarter guidance holds up.
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