Key Highlights
- Advanced Micro Devices shares exploded more than 10% during premarket hours on April 24, crossing $340 to establish new record levels
- Intel’s exceptional first-quarter performance — delivering $13.6B in revenue and $0.29 earnings per share — sparked renewed optimism throughout the semiconductor industry
- D.A. Davidson elevated AMD to Buy status, dramatically increasing its price objective from $220 to $375
- Stifel simultaneously boosted its forecast from $280 to $320 while maintaining Buy, emphasizing AMD’s strategic position in AI infrastructure
- AMD’s earnings announcement scheduled for May 5 has analysts projecting results that could significantly exceed current expectations
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices exploded upward by more than 10% during premarket activity on Friday, April 24, establishing fresh all-time peaks beyond the $340 threshold. The remarkable rally materialized following Intel’s impressive first-quarter earnings report and simultaneous upgrades from two prominent Wall Street firms.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD
Intel delivered first-quarter revenue totaling $13.6 billion, substantially surpassing Wall Street consensus projections. The company’s adjusted earnings per share reached $0.29, significantly exceeding analyst forecasts. These robust results ignited a surge of positive sentiment throughout the chip industry, with AMD emerging as one of the primary winners.
Gil Luria from D.A. Davidson elevated AMD’s rating from Neutral to Buy while simultaneously launching his price objective from $220 to an ambitious $375. His reasoning centered on what he described as a “structural increase” in central processing unit demand coupled with “much improved” clarity regarding AMD’s positioning within the data center expansion cycle.
“CPU is reinserting itself as an indispensable foundation of the AI era,” Luria wrote. He called Intel’s results “a precursor for a huge step-up for AMD’s CPU franchise.”
Meanwhile, Stifel’s Ruben Roy also elevated his AMD price forecast, pushing it from $280 to $320 while reaffirming his Buy recommendation. Roy contended that AMD deserves recognition as a fundamental artificial intelligence infrastructure company rather than being categorized as a conventional cyclical chip stock.
He highlighted massive multi-gigawatt infrastructure commitments from companies like Meta Platforms and OpenAI as concrete evidence of the unprecedented scale of AI data center investments where AMD maintains significant exposure.
Central Processors Reclaim the Spotlight
Throughout much of the artificial intelligence revolution, graphics processing units dominated investor conversations and media coverage. However, Intel’s quarterly results have redirected attention back toward CPUs. As agentic AI applications proliferate — autonomous software agents capable of independent decision-making — computational requirements are expanding beyond GPUs to encompass high-performance central processors.
AMD’s product portfolio spans both CPUs and GPUs, which are now integral components of servers deployed throughout AI-focused data centers. Additionally, the company’s anticipated Helios rack platform, expected to debut in late 2026, represents another strategic expansion of its data center offerings.
Roy’s research emphasized this comprehensive systems-level strategy as increasingly critical to properly evaluating AMD’s long-term growth trajectory.
With premarket valuations already surpassing Stifel’s $320 projection, considerable optimism had already been incorporated into the stock price before regular trading commenced. Market participants are now focusing their attention on AMD’s upcoming earnings disclosure, scheduled for May 5.
Broad-Based Industry Strength
AMD’s ascent isn’t occurring in isolation. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) has advanced 27.73% year-to-date, substantially outpacing the S&P 500’s comparatively modest 4.07% appreciation during the identical timeframe.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has climbed 23% throughout this year. ASML has surged 32%. Both companies represent major constituents within SMH’s portfolio.
TSMC holds particular significance for AMD — the chipmaker depends on Taiwan Semiconductor for manufacturing its processors. Persistent demand for cutting-edge semiconductors, especially those powering AI computational workloads, provides direct support to AMD’s production ecosystem.
AMD shares were trading at unprecedented levels entering Friday’s trading session, with the semiconductor sector propelling broader market indices to fresh records earlier in the week.
DA Davidson’s ambitious $375 price target suggests considerable additional upside potential even from today’s elevated valuation levels. The upcoming May 5 earnings release will serve as the next critical milestone for investors to assess.
