Intel Offloads Half Of Altera, But INTC Stock Hasn't Turned Around From Bear Mode

Intel Corp INTC surged over 3% early Monday after announcing a deal to sell 51% of its Altera business to Silver Lake. However, the charts indicate that the semiconductor giant’s stock remains stuck in a bearish rut.A Billion-Dollar Breakup (Sort Of)Intel's move to carve out its FPGA (field programmable gate array) arm, Altera, in an $8.75 billion valuation deal is its latest play to shed weight, refocus on its core and please investors. Silver Lake will take majority control, while Intel retains 49%.To sweeten the separation, Intel handed the CEO reins to Raghib Hussain, a seasoned Silicon Valley veteran fresh off the Marvell express. With Hussain at the helm and Silver Lake writing checks, Altera is ready to go full throttle into AI, edge computing and robotics.Read Also: Intel Gave Up On Bitcoin Mining Chip Business Nearly 2 Years Ago — Here’s How Its Stock Has Fared Compared With BTC Since ThenStock Pops, But Technicals Still Scream ‘Bearish'Chart created using Benzinga ProInvestors cheered the deal, pushing shares up 3% by mid-morning. This sent Intel stock above the eight-day moving average of $20.19, signaling positive trading momentum driven by the news. However, the INTC stock still trades well below its 20, 50 and 200-day simple moving averages.The MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) indicator, at negative 0.78, further suggests bearishness. The RSI (relative strength index), at 44.45, is in the neutral zone.Even with buying pressure emerging, Intel's technical signals indicate negative momentum over the medium-to-long term horizon.For now, the trend is firmly bearish, with the next narrative pivot likely coming in 10 days, when Intel’s first-quarter earnings hit.Investor Brew: Bitter Or Just Bold?Intel’s Altera deal meets strategic criteria, but for now, the market wants more than a flashy spin-off.With earnings around the corner and the chart still under water, Intel has a shot to flip the narrative – if it can prove it's still got chips worth betting on.Read Next: Why Are Semiconductor Stocks Trading Higher On Monday?Photo: Shutterstock