Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Stock Rallies on Fresh Analyst Coverage and Upgraded Price Targets

Key Highlights

• Advanced Micro Devices gained 1.9% during pre-market hours following William Blair’s new Market Perform rating, with projections showing revenue could surge from $52B in 2026 to surpass $104B by 2028.
• Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider increased his AMD price target to $640, maintaining bullish momentum throughout the week.
• Shares opened Thursday at $517.41, trading within a 52-week band of $137.59 to $584.73.
• First-quarter results exceeded forecasts with EPS of $1.37 versus $1.29 consensus, while revenue reached $10.25B, marking a 37.8% annual increase.
• The chipmaker confirmed its Q2 2026 earnings announcement for August 4, providing traders with an upcoming focal point.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) advanced 1.9% before Thursday’s opening bell, reaching $517.41 as new analyst coverage and an upgraded price objective from Goldman Sachs sustained buying interest.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

William Blair launched coverage on the semiconductor manufacturer with a Market Perform designation. Sebastien Naji, the firm’s analyst, highlighted AMD’s strategic positioning to capitalize on AI infrastructure expansion, forecasting revenue growth from $52 billion in 2026 to more than $104 billion by 2028.

The research firm anticipates non-GAAP earnings per share approaching $20 by 2028, fueled by robust demand across GPU, CPU, and AI-optimized silicon products serving model training and inference applications.

Goldman Sachs’ James Schneider elevated his AMD price objective to $640 earlier this week, a revision that has bolstered the stock’s upward trajectory entering Thursday’s trading session.

Thursday’s pre-market strength follows a challenging Tuesday, when AMD declined after Reuters disclosed that Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek is building its own inference-specialized chip—news that unsettled semiconductor equities broadly.

The stock rebounded Wednesday, closing at $518.47 after starting the day at $504.01, before extending its recovery into Thursday morning.

Strong Q1 Performance, Q2 Earnings Date Set

AMD’s latest quarterly report provided encouraging signals for shareholders. The company delivered Q1 earnings per share of $1.37, surpassing the $1.29 analyst consensus. Revenue totaled $10.25 billion, exceeding the $9.90 billion forecast and representing a 37.8% year-over-year increase.

Management officially announced August 4 as the date for Q2 2026 financial results, scheduled for release after market hours. This timeline provides market participants with a definitive near-term event for strategic positioning.

Wall Street’s full-year fiscal 2026 EPS estimate currently stands at $6.15.

Institutional Accumulation Persists

Resona Asset Management expanded its position by 11,724 shares during Q1, bringing its total holdings to 514,346 units valued at approximately $103.9 million. Vanguard, State Street, and Geode Capital similarly increased their stakes in the fourth quarter.

Institutional ownership currently represents 71.34% of AMD’s shares outstanding.

Meanwhile, company executives have reduced holdings. CEO Lisa Su divested 125,000 shares on June 10 at $460.69 per share, generating roughly $57.6 million. Executive Vice President Forrest Norrod also sold 19,487 units in May. Both transactions were executed through pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements.

Wall Street Ratings and Industry Dynamics

Among 43 analysts monitored by MarketBeat, two assign a Strong Buy rating, 28 recommend Buy, 12 suggest Hold, and one advises Sell.

The consensus price target stands at $453.92, although several recent upgrades have established targets considerably higher. UBS maintains a $670 objective, Wells Fargo projects $615, and Goldman Sachs now targets $640.

William Blair acknowledged that AMD’s GPU offerings have trailed Nvidia in certain metrics but emphasized the company’s accelerated product development timeline and competitive differentiation through memory architecture, pricing strategies, and open-source frameworks.

AMD shares experienced pressure earlier this week after Nvidia secured another client for its Vera AI CPU lineup.

Broader market indices showed mixed performance Thursday, with the Nasdaq advancing 0.2% while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%.