New York, May 20, 2026, 05:07 (EDT)
- Intel closed Tuesday up 2.43% at $110.80, ending a five-day slide.
- Nasdaq plans normal trading, opening at 9:30 a.m. and closing at 4:00 p.m. ET. May 20 does not show up as a 2026 U.S. market holiday.
- Next up is whether AI-fueled demand for server CPUs will hold as Nvidia reports, with higher bond yields pressuring tech stocks.
Intel shares broke a five-day losing streak Tuesday, rising 2.43% to close at $110.80. The move came as analysts lifted price targets and focus shifted back to Intel’s AI server push instead of the company’s turnaround problems. Shares traded between $102.40 and $113.07.
Intel is on the radar again with bulls piling into what’s become a crowded comeback trade. The stock fell each session from May 12 to May 18, after finishing at $129.44 on May 11. That was right after shares touched a 52-week high at $132.75.
Nasdaq’s main session in New York is yet to open. Regular hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, after pre-market starts at 4:00 a.m. May 20 isn’t a market holiday, Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday schedule shows, with the next full close coming on Memorial Day, May 25.
Intel was among tech names moving higher Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.84%. Nvidia slipped 0.77% and AMD was off 1.65%.
Intel is getting higher price targets as analysts get more bullish. Benjamin Reitzes at Melius Research bumped his target up to $150 from $100. Atif Malik at Citi lifted his to $130 from $95. Cody Acree at Benchmark moved his up to $140 from $105, reports said. Malik said, “We are constructive on CPU demand” as AI use shifts from training to inference and agentic AI—where models handle tasks and give answers. TradingView
Intel gets a trade on hopes that new AI data centers will buy more CPUs along with Nvidia’s GPUs. Intel, which makes CPUs for servers and PCs, posted a 7% jump in Q1 revenue to $13.6 billion last month. Data Center and AI revenue rose 22%.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the next phase of AI will move “intelligence closer to the end user.” CFO David Zinsner said there is “unprecedented demand for silicon” and the company is working to increase supply. Intel projects second-quarter revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. Intel Corporation
Chipmakers AMD and Arm remain in the mix. Investors are watching Nvidia’s earnings after the bell on Wednesday, with the numbers expected to put the AI chip market to the test. Options are pricing in a swing of about $355 billion in Nvidia’s market cap on the results, according to Reuters.
Intel has seen political winds breaking its way for now. President Donald Trump told Fortune—and Reuters picked up the remarks—that the government “should have asked for more” after taking a 10% stake in Intel last year with a $10 billion investment. Reuters put the government’s Intel position above $50 billion. Reuters
Tech stocks saw a relief bounce Tuesday, but higher bond yields are still a risk for names with high valuations. Nvidia could disappoint investors who’ve started to hedge on AI, and Intel’s turnaround depends on winning more outside business for its manufacturing unit. “No company in history has ever fallen off the Moore’s law curve and made it back on,” Jay Goldberg at Seaport Research told Reuters. Reuters
Intel’s foundry plans look shaky, even if the numbers don’t show it yet. J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur said it could take a year to a year and a half to know if Intel will push forward, and five years or longer to see if contract manufacturing can actually make money for the business.
Intel is holding a level after this week. Traders who bought in Tuesday face a decision—whether this is a real post-earnings reset, or just another part of the broad chip trade as the sector waits for Nvidia’s next step.
Related articles: NASDAQ:INTC
