AMD (AMD) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why

What Happened?

Shares of computer processor maker AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) jumped 6.9% in the afternoon session after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight, citing a significant surge in demand for the company's server chips used in artificial intelligence. 

Analyst John Vinh raised the price target to $270. The upgrade followed supply chain checks that revealed intense demand from large-scale data center operators, known as hyperscalers. This demand was so strong that it led to AMD being almost completely sold out of its server central processing units (CPUs) for 2026. Because of this, the company was reportedly considering a price increase of 10% to 15% in the first quarter. The analyst estimated that AMD's server CPU business would grow by at least 50% during the year.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

AMD’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 30 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 11 days ago when the stock gained 5.3% on the news that investor optimism grew following favorable analyst predictions for 2026 and anticipation of new product announcements. 

The move came as top Wall Street analysts predicted a potential 32% jump in the stock's value for 2026, building on significant gains from the previous year. This positive outlook was tied to AMD's role in the artificial intelligence sector, driven by demand for high-performance computing and data centers. Adding to the excitement were rumors that the company planned to reveal a new, faster Ryzen chip and a new generation of processors at the upcoming CES 2026 conference. AMD's stock also benefited from a broader rally in tech stocks, as fresh excitement surrounding the prospects of AI lifted the sector.

AMD is flat since the beginning of the year, and at $222.90 per share, it is trading 15.7% below its 52-week high of $264.33 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AMD’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,429.

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