Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), a data-center and PC chip designer, closed at $508.58, up 13.26%. Oppenheimer's upgrade and Google Cloud's chip selection boosted the shares, while investors are watching AI data-center demand and next week's chip-sector earnings. Trading volume reached 50.7M shares, coming in about 123% above its three-month average of 22.8M shares.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 closed at 7,556, up 2.43%, while the Nasdaq Composite finished at 25,253, up 2.74%. Among semiconductor rivals, Nvidia closed at $178.67, down 4.27%, and Intel closed at $59.37, up 5.49%, as chipmakers traded unevenly on AI sentiment and leadership scrutiny.
What this means for investors
On Monday, AMD stock continued to benefit from headwinds following the pullback that began soon after it released its third-quarter 2026 earnings report on Nov. 3.
Oppenheimer upgraded AMD stock to an outperform rating, setting a $600 per share price target. If it meets its target, the chip stock would rise by about 18% from current levels.
Additionally, since AMD's data center segment reported a 97% year-over-year revenue increase in the Q3 report, the company's AI outlook has continued to improve, with guidance for 80% revenue growth next year.
Moreover, AMD announced that its fifth-generation AMD EPYC CPUs power Alphabet's Google Cloud's TPU 8tx, establishing hardware-enforced confidential computing for that company's cloud AI systems.
Furthermore, with the notable exception of Nvidia, most chip stocks rose in Monday trading. Nvidia, AMD's strongest competitor in its data center business, faces uncertainty amid an indiscretion involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy.
The implications of such an act have ripple effects across the industry. Although it remains unclear whether, or to what extent, potential changes at Nvidia would affect AMD stock, AMD seemed to benefit from investors fleeing the uncertainty surrounding Nvidia.
Will Healy has positions in Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.