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Shares of Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL) jumped to a fresh 52-week high on Thursday. The catalyst? A big, bullish call from Barclays that’s all about the coming boom in optical technology.
Analyst Tom O’Malley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equalweight and, more importantly, jacked up the price target to $150 from $105. That’s a vote of confidence in the company’s growth drivers, and it hinges on one thing: optical demand is about to go parabolic.
O’Malley’s channel checks suggest something pretty wild: optical port demand is set to double in 2026. And then double again in 2027. Based on the firm’s estimates, that could mean Marvell’s optical revenue surges roughly 90% over the next two years. That’s even after accounting for potential market share gains by rival Broadcom Inc. (AVGO).
This marks a significant shift. The analyst noted that improving optical trends help offset prior worries that had weighed on the stock in late 2025, specifically concerns around Trainium share losses and issues with 1.6T DSP products.
O’Malley also sketched out a conservative earnings scenario to highlight the potential upside. He suggested Marvell could reach about $5 in earnings per share even in a world that excludes Microsoft Corp (MSFT), assumes no growth from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), and uses lower XPU attach rates. For the record, he was quick to add that Barclays “does not support those assumptions.” It’s more of a thought experiment to show the floor of potential, not the forecast.
Let’s look at the tape. At $121.21, Marvell was trading 26.1% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and a whopping 40.4% above its 100-day SMA. That screams strong short- and intermediate-term momentum.
The relative strength index (RSI), a momentum gauge, was at 72.42. That’s in overbought territory (triggered April 8), suggesting the upside move is powerful but getting a bit stretched. A “golden cross” back in October, where the 50-day SMA moved above the 200-day SMA, still supports the idea that buyers have controlled the longer-term trend.
The next major event is the estimated earnings report on May 28, 2026. The expectations set a high bar:
Marvell isn’t just a stock; it’s a key component in several major exchange-traded funds. That means fund flows can create automatic buying or selling pressure:
Significant inflows or outflows from these ETFs will likely trigger corresponding trades in Marvell shares.
On Thursday, Marvell Technology shares were up 4.31% at $119.38 at the time of publication, according to market data, solidly in new 52-week high territory.
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