Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) shares are down 6% to $119.83 at midday Thursday, leading a sharp pullback across chip names. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock is off 5% to $511.67, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) is down 6% to $561.49.
The moves are notable because the news flow into Thursday was constructive. Intel just picked up a bold price target hike from HSBC, and the broader tape appears to be holding up. The Dow reportedly touched a fresh all-time high after a soft jobs report cooled rate-hike odds, so this looks like a rotation out of high-flying semiconductors rather than a market-wide decline.
Both Intel and AMD are pulling back from monster year-to-date runs. Intel stock is still up more than 200% year to date, and AMD stock is up more than 130% year to date. In that context, a single-session reset looks manageable.
HSBC Sees 60% Upside as Intel Slides
The irony of the session sits with Intel. HSBC raised its Intel price target to $200 from $100 with a Buy rating, implying 60% upside from current levels, and called the foundry business “too good to ignore.” The firm expects foundry engagements to materialize in the second half of 2026, with server CPUs driving earnings in 2026 and 2027.
Cantor Fitzgerald piled on, lifting its INTC share-price target to $150 from $90 (Neutral) and citing a generational AI-infrastructure buildout that could push industry revenue to roughly $3 trillion by 2029. Reports have also surfaced of Intel Foundry engagements with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, including possible Google TPU orders. TPIsoftware separately adopted Intel Xeon 6 processors and Intel Arc Pro B60 GPUs for enterprise AI on June 23.
The bear case hasn’t vanished, however. Intel’s Foundry unit posted a roughly $2.4 billion operating loss in Q1 2026, foundry customer wins are still early, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan needs to convert engagements into shipped revenue. Besides, after a triple-digit rally, some profit-taking is understandable.
AMD and the Broader Chip Basket Cool Off
AMD’s decline looks like sympathy selling driven by sector rotation. There’s no obvious, company-specific negative catalyst for Advanced Micro Devices today. In fact, UBS just outlined a bullish scenario, projecting that AMD’s annual server CPU revenue could reach $50 billion by 2030 on agentic AI demand, with a $670 price target.
The action inside the iShares Semiconductor ETF illustrates the breadth of the pullback. The fund carries roughly 30 chip stocks across design, manufacturing, and equipment, with a 0.34% expense ratio. Broad selling in that basket, on a day with bullish Intel headlines, is the tell that this is positioning and profit-taking.
Chip ETFs are high-beta by design. That cuts both ways, and it argues for modest position sizes when the group runs this hard.
What to Watch Next
The immediate catalyst on the calendar is Intel’s Q2 2026 earnings on July 23, after the close, with a conference call the same afternoon. That report can confirm whether foundry engagements are converting to revenue and whether the Data Center and AI segment can build on its Q1 performance.
Traders can watch for whether Intel stock holds near the $119 area into the close, and whether SOXX finds support after today’s 6% drop. A bounce would suggest that rotation is underway; a weak close could invite more profit-taking into next week.
The takeaway: after the run these names have delivered, a sharp red day is the price of admission. The long-term AI-infrastructure thesis behind Intel, AMD, and the semiconductor group remains intact, but the setup calls for measured sizing rather than chasing.
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