New York, May 20, 2026, 05:07 (EDT)
- Intel finished Tuesday at $110.80, rising 2.43%. The stock snapped a five-day losing streak.
- Nasdaq is set to run its regular hours, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. May 20 isn’t listed as a 2026 U.S. market holiday.
- The next thing to watch is if AI-driven demand for server CPUs will stick as Nvidia reports and higher bond yields weigh on tech stocks.
Intel shares ended a five-session slide on Tuesday, bouncing as analyst price-target hikes put attention back on Intel’s AI server push over its ongoing turnaround issues. The stock finished up 2.43% at $110.80, moving between $102.40 and $113.07 during the day.
Intel is back in focus as the stock has turned into a crowded comeback play. Shares dropped every day between May 12 and May 18, after closing at $129.44 on May 11. That was just after the stock hit a 52-week high of $132.75.
Nasdaq hasn’t started its regular session in New York. Normal hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, with pre-market from 4:00 a.m. May 20 is not a market holiday, according to Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday calendar, which puts the next full close on Memorial Day, May 25.
Intel stood out as one of the active tech gainers Tuesday. The broader market was lower, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.84%. Nvidia dropped 0.77% and AMD lost 1.65%.
Intel’s price targets are rising as more analysts turn positive. Melius Research’s Benjamin Reitzes boosted his price target to $150 from $100, while Citi’s Atif Malik now sees $130, up from $95. Benchmark’s Cody Acree raised his to $140 from $105, according to reports. Malik said, “We are constructive on CPU demand” as more AI workloads move to inference and agentic AI—using models for tasks and answers, not just training. TradingView
Big bet on CPUs drives the trade. Intel makes the CPUs that power servers and PCs, and some investors think new AI data centers will buy more of them, even as they load up on GPUs like Nvidia’s. Last month, Intel said its Q1 revenue rose 7% to $13.6 billion. Its Data Center and AI segment jumped 22%.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the next phase of AI will push “intelligence closer to the end user.” CFO David Zinsner pointed to “unprecedented demand for silicon” and work to boost supply. Intel is projecting second-quarter revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. Intel Corporation
Competition is still here. AMD and Arm keep drawing interest in server chips, and Nvidia’s earnings, due after the close on Wednesday, are a major test for the AI chip sector. Options traders see a possible $355 billion shift in Nvidia’s market cap following the results.
The politics are in play, but so far that’s worked in Intel’s favor. President Donald Trump told Fortune—the comments were picked up by Reuters—that the U.S. government “should have asked for more” after it took a 10% stake in Intel last year with an investment of about $10 billion. Reuters put the government’s holding at over $50 billion. Reuters
Tuesday’s move might just be a relief bounce. Higher bond yields threaten tech stocks trading at high multiples, Nvidia might come up short for investors already hedging their AI bets, and Intel still faces a big test in showing it can win enough outside orders for its manufacturing business. “No company in history has ever fallen off the Moore’s law curve and made it back on,” Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg told Reuters. Reuters
Foundry is proving to be a tougher problem for Intel than what’s on the chart. J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur said it might be a year to 18 months before it’s clear if Intel is moving ahead, and five years or more to see if contract manufacturing turns into a real, profitable part of the business.
Intel shares have found a floor for now. Investors who picked up the stock Tuesday have to decide if this is a true earnings reset, or if they’re just making another play in the big chip trade before Nvidia calls the next move.
