After pulling back on Thursday from a 12-year high, shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) popped higher on Friday, extending what’s been an incredible rally thus far in 2018.
Friday saw AMD shares rise by 7.4%. The stock
kept gaining all year, hitting new 12-year highs and rising to levels not seen
since 2006, when it traded as high as $42.70 a share. It closed Friday at
$32.72, so it still has some increasing to do before hitting that 2006 high.
The stock may potentially reach that level,
as AMD shares are up by 201% since the start of the year, and by an incredible
220% over the past 100 days. And gains have been accelerating. Historically,
AMD has reached its best gains in the last 6-8 weeks, which could lead to the
stock reaching a level above the 2006 high.
Analysts continue to raise their forecasts
for the stock too. On Thursday FBN Securities initiated an outperform rating
and a $40 price target on the chipmaker stock. Earlier in the week Rosenblatt
Securities analyst Hans Mosesmann had also raised his price target on the stock
to $40 from the previous $30 forecast. Even more, Argus analyst Jim Kelleher
took his price target from $23 to $40.
AMD is the best performing stock in the
S&P 500 this year. In comparison with the AMD gains, the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index is up just 10% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq has gained
16.2% and the S&P 500 has an 8.6% gain.
Source: Marketwatch.com
