U.S. stocks may have pulled back from their record highs, but legendary market guru Jeremy Siegel remains bullish on the market.

Siegel, a finance professor at Wharton, sees the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching 16,000 to 17,000 by the end of the year. "And I think 18,000 is definitely achievable in 2014," Siegel tells CNBC.

The Dow closed at 15,518.74 Tuesday. A move to 17,000 would represent a gain of 9.5 percent from there. The index already has gained 20.1 percent so far this year.

Editor’s Note: Dow Predicted Will Hit 60,000 — Buy These 4 Stocks Now(Shocking)

While investors are "totally spooked" over how quickly the Federal Reserve will decide to curb its quantitative easing, stocks will benefit regardless of how fast the Fed moves, Siegel says.

The central bank "would never accelerate tapering unless the economy was so much stronger, which has got to be good for earnings," he explains.

"So in one way, you can't lose on stocks. Either the economy's weak, the tapering will end; or the economy's strong, they'll taper, and earnings will be strong. That's why I think stocks are still a win-win situation," Siegel adds.

"I think this bull has some space to run."

Siegel maintains that economic growth will accelerate in the second half of this year. Gross domestic product expanded an average of 1.4 percent a quarter in the first half.

But Jim Dunigan, managing executive for investments at PNC Wealth Management, sees several factors that could keep stocks from rising much soon.

"There appears to be a lot on our plates as we get into fall season, with budget talks, a new Fed chair and the debt ceiling, which might lead the market to churn here a bit," he tells MarketWatch.

Editor’s Note: Dow Predicted Will Hit 60,000 — Buy These 4 Stocks Now(Shocking)