Stock Market Today, May 18: Intel Slips After AI Bubble Risk Warning Offsets Early Gains

Intel (INTC 0.53%), a major PC and data center chipmaker, closed Monday at $108.17, down 0.55%. The stock slipped during the regular session as traders weighed recent earnings strength and AI-driven momentum against profit-taking after last week’s volatility and a fresh warning about potential AI “bubble risk.”
Trading volume reached 143.9 million shares, coming in about 26% above its three-month average of 113.8 million shares. Intel IPO’d in 1980 and has grown 33,130% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.07%) inched down 0.07% to 7,403, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.51%) fell 0.51% to 26,091 as growth stocks eased. Among semiconductors, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 0.61%) closed at $420.99 (-0.73%) and Nvidia (NVDA 1.38%) finished at $222.32 (-1.33%), underscoring broad sector pressure on chipmakers.

What this means for investors

Intel stock has been on a tear, nearly tripling this year, even after a recent pullback. The stock has dropped more than 15% in the past four trading sessions.

It’s not surprising to see profit-taking after the stock’s massive surge even as two Wall Street analysts raised price targets today. Citigroup (C 0.82%) analyst Atif Malik raises his target share price to $130 from $95 per share, while Benchmark Equity Research analyst Cody Acree is also bullish with a new $140 price target.

Both views see AI momentum continuing, giving Intel shares room for further upside. If the total market for CPUs grows by 35% annually due to demand for processors that support AI agents., as Malik thinks is possible, Intel may resume its rise soon.