Intel more deeply overbought after another strong week of gains
Intel shares may be getting bit long in the tooth, at least in the near term. The chipmaker rallied around 21% this week after the Wall Street Journal reported Intel had reached out to Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor for a potential investment. The Journal also said the U.S. was planning a push for chipmakers to match domestic semiconductor output to the amount they import. That latest gain put Intel up nearly 80% year to date. The only problem? The stock is now even deeper into overbought territory. Intel’s relative strength index now sits at 80, up from 77 a week ago . An RSI above 70 signals an asset may have run up too much too fast — making it susceptible to a pullback. “The chipmaker’s rise from $20 to $35 over the past month has very clearly been fueled by punchy news and while we think CEO Lip-Bu Tan is doing more right now than just hunting for headlines that will push his stock higher, we do wonder whether Tan is turning INTC into a quasi-public company that exists to serve its newest investors,” wrote Don Bilson, head of event-driven research at Gordon Haskett. “Even if INTC does become a puppet for its masters, we suppose that beats the hand it was playing two months ago when the stock was rudderless and trading for $20/share.” That said, the last time Intel’s RSI was this high was on Feb. 19, when it reached 80 as well. Between then and March 11, the stock slumped more than 23%. Other stocks in the S & P 500 also waded into overbought territory this week, with their RSIs topping 70 — and their weekly advanced eclipsing at least 5%. With an RSI of 90, Marathon Petroleum is the most overbought stock in the S & P 500. Through Friday afternoon trading, shares were up more than 7% for the week. IBM also made the list, with an RSI of nearly 79 and a one-week gain of more than 7% as enthusiasm swirled around the company’s role in quantum computing. HSBC disclosed that it used IBM’s Heron quantum processor to improve its bond trading. “We believe IBM is a clear leader in the quantum market,” Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring wrote Friday. “Our research suggests that IBM has the largest and broadest ecosystem of advanced quantum computers today, totaling 75+ system installations since 2017, meaning IBM has four more quantum computers installed globally than the entire rest of the world (i.e. all other quantum vendors), combined.” Still, for all that enthusiasm, Woodring only an equal weight rating on IBM shares. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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