If you are long Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and have been since the beginning of 2018, you’re likely cursing yourself for not investing enough money in the up-and-coming chip maker. Up 217% year-to-date through September 25, the AMD stock price has a real chance of breaking through $40 by the end of December.
If AMD stock breaks $40 at the end of the year, it will have jumped by $30 in eight months, an unbelievable achievement for a company whose stock was trading for $9.56 per share on April 25.
How good is AMD’s run?
Out of 727 stocks listed on a U.S. exchange with a market cap of $10 billion or higher, AMD stock is the second-best performer in 2018, behind only Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), which is up 535% since its IPO in mid-July.
If you thought the volatility of Advanced Micro Devices stock was high, Tilray’s cannabis-induced ride has been out-of-this-world wild.
InvestorPlace’s Luke Lango recently suggested that Tilray stock could drop another $30 from where it currently trades. The shares already suffered a massive, four-day decline from their $300 high on September 19 to their $99.50 close on September 24.
$40 Here We Come
I mention Luke’s Tilray comments because he believes that AMD stock price will reach $40 sooner rather than later, given its incredible momentum.
“Now that we’ve broken through $30, the next logical stop is $40. That also happens to be where almost every bullish analyst is putting their price target ever since the stock broke through $30,” Lango wrote on September 17. “For example, FBN Securities just initiated AMD with a $40 price target, while Rosenblatt just raised its price target to $40. Also, $40 is the level where previous huge rallies in AMD have topped off (in 2000 and 2006),” he noted.
I didn’t think AMD stock would hit $25 before Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) hit $350. Of course, we know in hindsight that AMD stock price hit $25 in August while NVDA continues to move between $240 and $280, a long way from my price target for NVDA.
In August, just after AMD stock price crossed $25, Lango wrote that it would hit $40 by 2021, a full three years in the future.
What Changed?
Not much.
His thesis on why the momentum of Advanced Micro Devices stock will continue into 2019 is easy enough to understand.
“It is hard to imagine AMD stock dropping. Revenue growth will remain robust. Margins will keep trending higher. Earnings will soar. Sentiment will get more bullish,” Lango wrote on August 28. “Plus, there are still a bunch of shorts out there (20% of the float is short), and they will rush to cover as AMD keeps gaining share.”
When it comes to the stocks of chip makers, momentum is a double-edged sword, fantastically explosive on the upside and equally so on the downside. But when the trend points up, you’ve got to ride the wave.
Bottom Line on AMD Stock
Unless the bull market suddenly ends, I don’t see how AMD stock doesn’t hit $40. In the best-case scenario, Advanced Micro Devices stock will reach $40 by the end of the year and in the worst-case scenario, the shares will hit the target by the end of March. So if you’re long AMD stock, I’d stay long, and if you’re looking for a quick gain, Advanced Micro Devices stock appears to be as good a bet as any at the moment.
As of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
