Several analysts are becoming more optimistic about future market share gains for Advanced Micro Devices.
Jefferies raised its price target to $30 from $22 for AMD shares, citing the chipmaker’s technological advantage over Intel. The firm also reiterated its buy rating on the company.
Analyst Mark Lipacis said in a note to clients on Monday that he sees the possibility that by the second half of next year, AMD will have a chip with higher transistor density than Intel for the first time in recent history. “We see this as a foundational shift in competitive dynamics. Meanwhile, our checks also suggest that AMD continues to take share in high-end notebooks,” he wrote.
AMD shares rose 7.3 percent Tuesday.
The chipmaker’s stock is significantly outperforming the market this year. Its shares are up 144.8 percent year to date through Friday versus the S&P 500’s 8.5 percent gain. AMD is the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year.
AMD is seen beating Intel to market with a more advanced chip. Intel has said that its 10 nanometer chips will be released for holiday 2019, delayed from a plan to roll them out earlier. But AMD is expected to have its 7 nanometer next-generation server chips next year.
One nanometer equals one-billionth of a meter. Smaller nanometer chipmaking technologies historically have allowed companies to create faster, more power-efficient chips.
As a result, Lipacis raised his 2019 AMD server chip market share estimate to 12 percent from 8 percent.
In a similar move, Cowen boosted its price target to $30 from $25 for AMD shares Monday, reaffirming its outperform rating on the chipmaker, also citing the rollout of the faster chip. “Intel’s delayed 10nm roadmap — originally targeted for 2016 launch in client and now pushed to 2H19 — opens opportunities for AMD across the business,” analyst Matthew D. Ramsay said in the report.
Last month Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target for AMD shares to $30 from $27, also citing the chipmaker’s process manufacturing advantage versus Intel.
