Intel Gains, AMD Slides After Report Touts 10-Nanometer Strides

(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. shares jumped the most since March after a research report stoked optimism about its delayed next-generation manufacturing technology and sent rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. tumbling.

A ramp up of Intel’s 10-nanometer production could begin as soon as April, four-to-six weeks earlier than current projections, BlueFin Research Partners said in a research note. Intel gained as much as 5.2 percent while rival AMD fell 8.6 percent.

Intel is making “significant strides” toward the the company’s 10-nanometer yield target prompting informal discussions with several suppliers about the possibility that the ramp could begin before June, according to BlueFin, a boutique research firm based in Boston.

Intel’s 10-nanometer production has been hampered by delays as the Santa Clara, California-based company struggles to shift to the more advanced manufacturing technique. That’s fueled optimism that its cross-town rival can take share in the market for central processing units used in personal computers and servers that’s dominated by Intel. Even after Tuesday’s loses, AMD is up more than 180 percent this year, making it the best performing stock in the S&P 500 Index.

Initial expectations for Intel’s fourth-quarter production levels suggest a slight decline from the previous quarter, which is “well above” the average projection on Wall Street, BlueFin said.

--With assistance from Ian King.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeran Wittenstein in San Francisco at jwittenstei1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Brad Olesen, Richard Richtmyer

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