Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) delivered a pleasant surprise Tuesday, beating third-quarter earnings expectations and announcing a strategic acquisition that has analysts scrambling to revise their forecasts upward.

The semiconductor company reported adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share for the quarter, surpassing the analyst consensus of 73 cents. Revenue came in at $2.08 billion, edging past the Street's $2.07 billion estimate and representing a substantial jump from the $1.52 billion reported in the same quarter last year.

Along with the earnings beat, Marvell announced it's acquiring Celestial AI, adding another piece to its data center puzzle.

"Marvell delivered record third-quarter revenue of $2.075 billion, exceeding the midpoint of guidance, driven by strong demand for our data center products," said Matt Murphy, Marvell's Chairman and CEO.

Investors liked what they heard. Marvell shares climbed 3.7% to $96.29 on Wednesday following the announcement.

The real action came from Wall Street analysts, who collectively decided their previous price targets were too conservative. Twelve firms raised their outlooks on the stock, with upgrades spanning a wide range.

Here's how the analyst community responded:

• Needham analyst N. Quinn Bolton maintained a Buy rating and lifted the price target from $95 to $120.
• Benchmark analyst Cody Acree kept a Buy rating while raising the target from $95 to $130.
• Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy maintained a Buy rating and boosted the price target from $95 to $120.
• Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers held an Overweight rating and increased the target from $90 to $135.
• Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $90 to $125.
• Keybanc analyst John Vinh kept an Overweight rating while lifting the target from $90 to $130.
• JP Morgan analyst Harlan Sur maintained an Overweight rating and increased the price target from $120 to $130.
• Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland held a Positive rating and raised the target from $100 to $120.
• Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse maintained a Neutral rating but boosted the price target from $90 to $110.
• Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg kept a Buy rating and raised the target from $95 to $114.
• Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer reiterated an Outperform rating and increased the price target from $115 to $150.
• Evercore ISI Group analyst Mark Lipacis maintained an Outperform rating while raising the target from $122 to $156.

The range of new price targets stretches from $110 to $156, with the consensus clearly tilting bullish on Marvell's prospects. The data center theme running through Murphy's comments seems to be the driving force behind the optimism, as demand for infrastructure supporting AI and cloud computing continues to accelerate.