Analyst Upgrades AMD Ahead of 3Q Earnings Release

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices edged higher Monday after a Wedbush analyst upgraded the stock, saying the chip maker should finish 2013 in strong form.

Analyst Betsy Van Hees raised her rating to “Outperform” from “Neutral,” and said she thinks AMD shares will trade higher as sales of new gaming consoles grow and as business picks up in the second half of the year. She also said AMD will take a bigger share of the server market.

“We believe AMD is back on track to deliver solid quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year earnings and revenue growth,” she said. The analyst raised her price target on the shares to $5 from $4.50.

Van Hees said the Sunnyvale, Calif., company will surpass Wall Street estimates in the third quarter, and raised her outlook. She now says AMD will report net income of 6 cents per share, on $1.42 billion in revenue, for the third quarter. She had previously called for net income of 2 cents per share, on $1.41 billion.

Analysts, on average, expect net income of 2 cents per share and $1.42 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Van Hees also raised her estimates for the fourth quarter. AMD is scheduled to post its third-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares closed up 14 cents to $3.97 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $1.81 and $4.65 in the past 52 weeks, and is up nearly 60 percent since the start of the year.