For anyone who has held shares of Intel (INTC) for more than a decade, chances are the stock has not only been a loser, but also a disappointment. While the world's largest maker of semiconductors has offered traders at least a dozen chances in as many years to try to make money on its price swings between $15 and $25 a share, its long-term story is still a daunting one, including the $75 high-water mark from September of 2000 that still stands today.
And yet, analyst Kim Forrest, at Fort Pitt Capital says this time it's going to be different.
"At this point in time, I couldn't be happier owning this stock because I really think 2013 is going to be the year in which they begin to show some traction," Forrest says in the attached video. "I think people have really underestimated what this company can produce."
Forrest believes Intel can overcome its power efficiency problem sooner than its rivals at ARM (ARMH) can overcome its computing power disadvantage. "My bet is that the engineers at Intel will win this" she says.
To gauge how that fight is going, Forrest recommends that investors keep an eye out for any signs of Intel pushing into the lower end smartphone business.
Of course, there are plenty of skeptics out there who aren't impressed with the company's 4.3% dividend yield that is high, and rising. In fact, just 35% of the 51 analysts who follow Intel rate it a "buy" right now, which means the stock is the least loved it has been in at least 20 years, FactSet data shows.
"Contrarian signals. You gotta love 'em," Forrest says with a smile.
