Intel confirmed this week that it has pulled in the expected
production ramp of is first 45nm server Xeon chip to Q4, ahead of
its prior
target of Q1 2008.
"Our basic message in yesterday's call with the financial
community is that Intel is back in servers in a big way," a
spokeswoman for Intel told Electronic News, EW's sister site in
the US.
This follows an Intel technology analyst's confirmation of the
early shipment
date of the processor firm’s 45nm Penryn chips, which build on
Intel’s Core 2 and Xeon processors, in a one-on-one interview with
Electronic News in December 2006.
On the speedier Xeon ramp, investment firm Lehman Brothers has
edged its estimates and price target for Intel's stock even higher
than its previous forecasts. The firm, which pegged Intel's 2007
earnings per share (EPS) at $1.04 in September 2006, now has placed
its EPS estimate for 2007 at $1.07, and at $1.31 for 2008. Intel's
Q4 2006 EPS was 26 cents.
The upgrade is just icing on the cake for the firm's already
stellar outlook on Intel. Lehman waxed enthusiastically about the
company earlier this week, when it reported that Intel is once
again successfully ensconced at the top of the MPU market after
ceding market share to rival chipmaker AMD in the second half of
2006.