Barclays upgrades AMD, says semiconductor maker can maintain server leadership while branching out

Published Mon, Jan 23 20237:09 AM ESTUpdated Mon, Jan 23 20238:18 AM EST

Advanced Micro Devices could rally as it maintains server leadership and branches out in other areas of technology, Barclays said. Analyst Blayne Curtis upgraded the semiconductor maker to overweight from equal weight. His price target of $85 implies a 21.3% upside from where the stock ended Friday's trading session. Curtis expects personal computer demand to fall again and bottom in the first quarter. But he sees a potential upside for the stock from direct-current and generative artificial intelligence. Curtis said he would like AMD to seize the opportunity related to AI, though he is not yet sure of what the exact play would be. "We can't entirely put our finger on the opportunity for generative AI but this seems to be finally another AI workload with real applications (search just one)," he said in a note Monday to clients. "We would like to see AMD capture more of the AI opportunity and are intrigued by its recently announced MI300 (CPU+GPU shipping in 2H23)." Curtis said AMD will have server leadership through 2024 as its Genoa and Bergamo platforms can drive market share gains against Intel , which has a competitor in the pipeline that Curtis doesn't expect to be released until 2025. He said AMD's server position could also be improved in the second half of 2023 if Facebook parent Meta reaccelerates spending, as he expects. The stock gained 2.2% in premarket trading. It's up 8.2% in 2023 after falling 55% in 2022. Meanwhile, he's less bullish on other stocks within the semiconductors space and is neutral on the sector as a whole. In addition to AMD, Curtis upgraded Qualcomm and Seagate Technology to overweight from equal weight given his improved outlook for companies with exposure to data centers, personal computers and headsets. On the other hand, he downgraded Applied Materials and KLA to underweight from equal weight and Veeco Instruments to equal weight from overweight, citing continued challenges for wafer fab equipment. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.