AMD surges 130% in 2026 as analysts raise targets on AI GPU potential

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares have surged more than 130% this year as at least six Wall Street analysts raised price targets in June alone.

"The market has yet to fully recognize AMD as a legit second source in the GPU market," Citi analyst Atif Malik said after upgrading the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifting his target to $575 from $460.

Malik's call centers on AMD's custom MI450 chips, which he believes give Meta Platforms lower total cost of ownership than Nvidia alternatives. Citi projects AMD's AI GPU revenue reaching $33 billion near term and expanding to $50.8 billion thereafter. Bank of America's Vivek Arya also raised his target to $560 from $500 while maintaining a Buy rating.

The upgrades signal a fundamental re-rating of AMD's competitive position. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $10.25 billion, beating consensus by $360 million, with its data center segment — the primary growth driver — rising 57 percent year-over-year to $5.8 billion.

The coordinated analyst action extends beyond Citi and BofA. Barclays, UBS, Mizuho and Bernstein all raised their targets in June, reflecting a view that AMD is no longer just a second-place GPU challenger to Nvidia but a legitimate second source in the AI accelerator market.

AMD's acquisition of MEXT, a memory technology company announced June 15, adds another dimension to the thesis. MEXT's predictive pre-fetching technology reduces latency by moving data from flash to DRAM before the GPU requests it, effectively expanding usable memory capacity and lowering infrastructure costs.

The company guided second-quarter revenue of approximately $11.2 billion, representing 46 percent year-over-year growth. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su said the company has "strong and increasing confidence" in its ability to earn tens of billions of dollars in data-center AI revenue next year.

AMD shares closed at $518.74 on June 23, down 6 percent on a broad chip selloff triggered by reports that SK Hynix is slowing its high-bandwidth memory expansion — a move analysts attributed to margin dynamics rather than weakening AI demand. The stock remains up more than 130 percent year-to-date and has nearly quadrupled over the past 12 months.

The wave of upgrades suggests institutional conviction is broadening beyond Nvidia. Investors will watch AMD's second-quarter earnings report, expected in early August, for evidence that MI450 shipments are ramping and that data center margins are expanding.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.