Rosenblatt set a "buy" rating and $250 price target
Semiconductor stocks are in rally mode before Christmas, with shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ AMD) last seen up 4.6% to trade at $124.65. The security attracted new bullish coverage from Rosenblatt, which set a "buy" rating and $250 price target, implying a nearly 100% upside. The analyst cited expanding market share in central processing units and and graphics processing units (GPUs).
On track for its biggest single-day percentage gain since Oct. 4, AMD is still down 15.3% this year and once again facing pressure from its 20-day moving average, despite briefly conquering this trendline earlier this month. Additional pressure at the $130 level is also capping the stock's bounce off its Dec. 20, 52-week low of $117.90.
Consistently featured on Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of stocks that attracted the most options volume over the past two weeks, AMD hasn't lost popularity with options traders despite this year's malaise. In the last 10 days, 5,344,968 calls and 2,820,673 puts were traded. The most popular contract by far within that period was the December 130 call.
This optimism has been constant longer term, too. Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Advanced Micro Devices stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.18 sits higher than 98% other readings from the past year.
What's more, the stock's Schaeffer’s Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 84 out of 100. This indicates AMD has consistently outperformed volatility expectations in the last 12 months.