AMD Stock Rises 4% After Analyst Upgrade to Buy on Data Center Growth

TLDR

• Erste Group upgraded AMD from Hold to Buy, citing strong data center demand and improving profitability.
• AMD stock rose 3.5% to $217.50, with roughly 38.1 million shares traded.
• Wells Fargo added AMD to its Q2 Tactical Ideas List with an Overweight rating and a $345 price target.
• AMD beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.53 vs. $1.32 expected, on revenue of $10.27B (+34.1% YoY).
• Analyst consensus sits at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $290.53.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) got a boost on Thursday after Erste Group Bank upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy, sending it up 3.5% to $217.50. Volume came in at roughly 38.1 million shares, in line with the daily average.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

Erste Group analyst Hans Engel pointed to strong data center demand and rising operating margins as key reasons for the upgrade. He noted that AMD expects Q1 2026 revenue growth of 32% year-over-year, driven by continued demand for high-performance CPUs and GPUs in data centers.

The upgrade came just a day after Wells Fargo added AMD to its Q2 Tactical Ideas List, flagging strong EPYC server CPU demand and what it described as a positive setup heading into Q1 earnings. Wells Fargo holds an Overweight rating on the stock with a price target of $345.

Engel also highlighted AMD’s upcoming Instinct MI450 series. Built on 2nm technology and slated for release in the second half of 2026, the MI450 will go head-to-head with NVIDIA’s Ruby architecture. Erste expects the higher memory capacity of the MI450 to drive demand.

AMD’s most recent quarterly results gave analysts plenty to work with. The company reported EPS of $1.53 for Q4, beating the $1.32 consensus by $0.21. Revenue came in at $10.27 billion, above the $9.65 billion estimate, and up 34.1% from the same period last year.

What the Street Is Saying

Analyst sentiment is largely positive. Aletheia Capital reiterated a Buy rating with a $330 price target, pointing to AMD’s role in the AI compute market. Wolfe Research kept an Outperform rating at $300, citing confidence in AMD’s AI accelerator roadmap.

Piper Sandler and Cantor Fitzgerald both carry Overweight ratings. Royal Bank of Canada has a Sector Perform and a $230 target. Across all analysts tracked, the average price target sits at $290.53, with 30 Buy ratings, 1 Strong Buy, and 9 Holds.

AMD also got a demand signal from the March 2026 Steam Hardware Survey, which showed the company gaining CPU and GPU market share on the platform.

Insider Sales and Institutional Activity

Not everything points in the same direction. Insiders sold around 239,392 shares worth roughly $50 million over the past 90 days. Among them, EVP Paul Darren Grasby sold 7,500 shares at $204.87 on March 11, reducing his position by 5.47%.

On the institutional side, Cathie Wood’s ARK sold around 57,000 AMD shares, adding some headline pressure. That said, D.E. Shaw has reportedly increased its AMD exposure, and AI startup Upstage is said to be in talks to purchase thousands of AMD chips.

Institutionally, 71.34% of AMD stock is held by funds and hedge funds. AMD’s market cap currently sits at $354.60 billion. The company’s PEG ratio of 0.77 suggests the stock is reasonably valued relative to its near-term growth trajectory.

AMD’s CEO was among the tech leaders appointed to President Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

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