New York, May 19, 2026, 15:06 EDT
- Intel climbed around 3.3% in afternoon trading, snapping a five-session slide.
- Intel got price target hikes from Citi and Benchmark this week, with analysts citing better CPU demand.
- The rally is ahead of Nvidia’s results, which are seen as a key test for the wider AI-chip trade.
Intel shares climbed 3.3% to $111.69 Tuesday afternoon, bouncing after five down sessions. Some bullish analyst notes came out even as the Nasdaq was lower. The stock moved between $102.43 and $112.59, and volume topped 112 million shares.
Intel’s stock is tracking a key market debate: is AI demand spreading from graphics chips to central processing units, or CPUs? Shares dropped 16% in five sessions after a big 2026 rally, then bounced Tuesday, Barron’s said.
Citi’s Atif Malik boosted his Intel price target to $130 from $95, while keeping his Buy rating, TheStreet said, quoting the bank’s May 18 note. “We are constructive on CPU demand as the industry moves to inference and agentic AI which need more CPUs,” Malik wrote. Agentic AI, according to Malik, lets software act with more autonomy instead of just responding to prompts. TheStreet
Benchmark analyst Cody Acree upped his price target on Intel to $140 from $105 and maintained a Buy call. Acree said after a recent fireside chat with Intel, the firm feels better about the recovery sticking around, and thinks the market may still be underpricing Intel’s 2027-2028 earnings potential.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan was set to appear at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on Tuesday, according to Intel’s investor calendar. Traders kept an eye out for any updates on demand, pricing, and details about Intel’s plans for its contract manufacturing business, where the company produces chips for external clients.
Intel’s latest results gave some ammunition to bulls. The company posted a 7% rise in first-quarter revenue to $13.6 billion, with non-GAAP EPS up to 29 cents. For the second quarter, Intel projected revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. Tan said demand for Intel’s CPUs and wafer and advanced packaging is getting a boost as AI workloads move from foundational models to inference and agentic AI.
Peers were mixed. Nvidia inched up close to $223 ahead of its Wednesday earnings, but AMD dipped to around $417. Investors are sorting CPU plays from the broader chip names, not just buying the whole sector.
Nvidia is still the major event this week. Options markets were looking for about a $355 billion move in Nvidia’s market cap after its results, Reuters said, showing the AI trade can shake up Intel, AMD and other chip stocks even when they don’t have much news out.
Stocks slipped with the big indexes down, tracking a climb in Treasury yields. The Nasdaq dropped almost 1%, according to Reuters. “Stocks are on the defensive because long-end yields are rising,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. Reuters
Intel’s stock has climbed, but a lot of that move may be investors betting on a recovery that isn’t here yet. Reuters said last week Intel posted a net loss of $3.73 billion and still needs to spend big to get its foundry unit up to speed. “TSMC is the real bottleneck,” Semianalysis chief Doug O’Loughlin said. Seaport Research’s Jay Goldberg also flagged the risk: “No company in history has ever fallen off the Moore’s law curve and made it back on.” Reuters
Intel shares are climbing, with Wall Street betting on tighter CPU demand as AI use spreads. But the trade looks fragile. Losses could come if Nvidia stumbles, yields keep rising, or Intel can’t quickly convert demand into higher margins or new foundry deals.
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