Intel Stock Rocket Falls 200% After Nvidia Hit-What Happens Next?

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Intel Stock’s 200% Rally Cracks as Nvidia Strikes Before a Make-or-Break Keynote

Intel (INTC) stock dropped 5.14% on Friday and continued to fall Monday morning after Nvidia announced a new chip that directly competes with Intel’s main products.

The recent decline brought an end to one of the biggest market gains of 2026 so far. However, the selling pressure actually started *before* the news about Nvidia, and the large investors who had been driving the rally were already starting to pull back their money.

Stock Price Breaks Down as Nvidia Steals Its AI Moment

In 2026, Intel experienced a significant surge, rising from around $40 in late March to nearly $133 by May 11th—an increase of over 230%.

The price briefly stabilized, forming a bullish pattern that typically signals a continuation of an upward trend, and then surged around May 20th. Unfortunately, this upward momentum didn’t last, and the price stopped rising.

As a researcher, I observed that the price dropped 5.14% on Friday, with a trading volume of around 191.68 million shares – significantly higher than usual. What’s particularly interesting is that the selling pressure increased as the price fell. This suggests investors were taking profits after a recent, rapid price increase, rather than new investors buying in.

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NVIDIA made a big announcement at the Computex trade show: the RTX Spark superchip. This new Arm-based processor combines a powerful Blackwell GPU and will be available this fall in laptops and desktops from major brands like Dell, HP, Microsoft, Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI.

Investors are interpreting recent news as a challenge to Intel’s leading position in the PC processor market, causing its stock price to drop significantly at the market open.

Nvidia unveils RTX Spark Superchip at Computex 2026

— Tom’s Hardware (@tomshardware) June 1, 2026

Intel also revealed its Crescent Island AI GPU on the same day, but because it won’t be available for testing for months, it didn’t lessen the impact of the news.

JUST IN: Intel $INTC to launch new AI chip this year to compete with NVIDIA and AMD.

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) June 1, 2026

Whether institutions are using the news to exit becomes the next question.

Institutional Flow Weakens as Morgan Stanley Flags a Customer Gap

Even though the price hasn’t fallen, the amount of money flowing into the market is decreasing, making a recovery unlikely. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator, which measures buying and selling activity by large investors, is showing weakness despite the price remaining stable.

From May 18th to May 29th, Intel’s stock price went up, while the CMF (Chaikin Money Flow) indicator decreased. The CMF is now at 0.13 and is following an upward trend. However, if this upward trendline is broken, and the price starts to fall, the decline could become more significant.

This situation highlights serious concerns. Morgan Stanley estimates that Intel’s 18A process is only yielding about 50% of usable chips, and currently, Apple is the sole customer with a signed contract. This limited demand is particularly worrying considering Intel is positioning this process as key to its recovery.

As a researcher following the semiconductor industry, I’m seeing estimates from Morgan Stanley that Intel’s 18A process is currently yielding around 50%. Interestingly, they’ve also pointed out that Apple appears to be the sole customer with a signed contract for this technology right now. I’m keeping a close eye on this, as customer adoption is key to Intel’s success with this new process node.

— Jukan @COMPUTEX (@jukan05) May 30, 2026

That gap helps explain why the rally drew profit-taking rather than fresh conviction.

It’s reasonable to wonder if money that left other tech stocks simply moved into Nvidia. However, looking at the data, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Nvidia’s cash flow has turned negative, and is actually weaker than Intel’s, suggesting that institutions may be pulling back from the tech sector as a whole, rather than just shifting investments between companies.

Current options trading strategies are creating potential risks. The ratio of put options (bets that a stock will fall) to call options (bets that a stock will rise) is 0.60 based on volume and 1.05 based on open interest. This suggests a lot of traders are betting the price will go up, which could lead to losses if the price unexpectedly drops.

That sets up the levels that decide the next move.

Intel Stock Price Levels to Watch as $128 Caps the Rebound

According to BeInCrypto analysts, the first key price level to watch for Intel stock is $128.

This analyst’s positive outlook matches the only optimistic prediction from Wall Street. While Mizuho Securities maintained a ‘Hold’ rating but increased its price target from $124 to $128 on May 31st, both Barclays (raising their target from $65 to $100) and Wells Fargo (from $85 to $110) suggested the stock price could potentially fall from its current level.

If the price rises clearly above $128, about 12% higher, it could lead to further gains, potentially reaching $136 and then $144. However, due to increased competition, reaching the original, ambitious target price – a 230% increase – now seems unlikely.

The main risk comes when many traders are already betting on a price increase. If the price drops below $102, it could signal a larger downturn, potentially reaching $64 if those optimistic bets are closed and the money flow indicator continues to decline.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan will be giving a keynote speech at Computex on June 2nd, and what he says could significantly change how people feel about the company, for better or worse.

Currently, the price needs to rise $128 to confirm a recovery towards $144. If it fails to do so, a decline could occur, potentially dropping to $102 or even further, especially if many traders are holding long positions.

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2026-06-01 23:42