Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) shares rose more than 1% in Wednesday's premarket session, as investors returned to large-cap chip stocks ahead of next week's earnings report. Broader market sentiment also improved, with Nasdaq futures gaining 0.34% and S&P 500 futures rising 0.23%.
The advance comes as investors position for AMD's second-quarter results, due on Aug. 4. The stock has gained more than 156% over the past 12 months, although it has pulled back from recent highs. AMD remains a key player in the artificial intelligence chip market, and also supplies processors for personal computers, gaming consoles, data centers, industrial equipment, and automotive applications.
Technical Picture Remains Bullish
At $461.13, AMD is trading 12.8% below its 20-day simple moving average and 9.7% below its 50-day simple moving average. However, the stock remains 17.4% above its 100-day average and 49.3% above its 200-day average, suggesting the longer-term uptrend remains intact despite recent weakness.
The moving average convergence divergence indicator remains below its signal line, indicating short-term momentum has weakened. But the broader moving average structure remains positive, with the 20-day average above the 50-day average and the 50-day average above the 200-day average. Traders are watching resistance near $546.50, while $437.00 remains an important support level.
Earnings Expectations Stay High
Wall Street expects AMD to report earnings of $1.55 per share, up from 48 cents a year earlier. Revenue is projected to rise to $11.28 billion from $7.68 billion in the year-ago quarter. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 151.5, reflecting high expectations for continued AI-driven growth.
Analysts remain broadly bullish. The consensus rating is Buy, with an average price forecast of $580.07. Recent rating actions include:
- Mizuho: Outperform; price forecast raised to $625 on July 27.
- Wedbush: Outperform; price forecast raised to $600 on July 27.
- UBS: Buy; price forecast raised to $730 on July 24.
MarketDash Edge View
According to MarketDash Edge rankings, AMD scores highly for Momentum (97.96), Quality (92.66), and Growth (96.91). However, its Value score of 3.88 suggests investors continue to assign a significant premium to the shares.
ETF Exposure
AMD is a major holding in several semiconductor and technology exchange-traded funds, including:
- iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX): 8.47%
- ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW): 8.31%
- Pacer Data and Digital Revolution ETF (TRFK): 8.22%
Heavy ETF ownership means fund inflows and outflows can have a meaningful impact on AMD's share price.
AMD Price Action: Advanced Micro Devices shares were up 1.03% at $459.30 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to market data.
