COVID-19 has had ruinous consequences for many companies, but you’d be hard pressed to find any negative impact on perennial winner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The chip maker has swatted away the pandemic and has continued the market trouncing performance it set off on some half a decade ago.
Heading into next week’s earnings (October 27, AMC), in possession of a year-to-date share gain of 78%, RBC analyst Mitch Steves pounds the table for more AMD upside.
The 5-star analyst anticipates a “beat and raise” and, as such, lifts his price target from $84 to $92. This figure implies additional upside of 13% over the following months. Needless to say, Steves’ rating stays an Outperform (i.e. Buy). (To watch Steves’ track record, click here)
So, what’s behind the target increase?
Steves explained, “Our checks remain positive and we anticipate: 1) upside to gaming numbers due to higher than expected demand, 2) upside on PC CPUs as well given the continued strength from WFH initiatives – we also think AMD is continuing to gain share against Intel and 3) the steady share gains on the server side should continue and the firm should reach low-mid teens share (up from 10%) in the next 2-3 quarters.”
Steves also addresses the recent rumored takeover of semiconductor peer Xilinx. Investors’ initial negative reaction to the estimated $30 billion deal was based on the fear the purchase amounts to a “defensive minded transaction.” Steves believes the noise surrounding the acqusition means “the focus has shifted away from AMD’s current core/organic growth story.” However, the analyst expects such worries will “likely fade” so long as AMD “can produce organic results that meet/exceed expectations.”
In addition to cementing AMD’s status as a large-cap semiconductor company, those in favor of the deal also highlight the acquisition’s potential to help AMD “expand into the communications sub-segment” and point to AMD’s success when going head to head against Intel in the CPU segment.
So, that’s RBC’s view, let’s see now what the rest of the Street has in mind for the high-flying chip maker. AMD’s Moderate Buy consensus rating is based on 11 Buys, 13 Holds and 1 Sell. The $86.26 average price target suggests modest upside of 6% from current levels. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
