AMD stock just achieved a milestone it hasn't in over 20 years

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is pushing further up on Apr. 16 as strong Q1 results from Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) prompted a sector-wide rally in semiconductor stocks.

AMD has now extended its winning streak to 12 consecutive days – its longest in over 20 years – as investors continue to reward the company for its expanding footprint in AI-driven compute.

At the time of writing, AMD stock is up a remarkable 40% versus its year-to-date low.

AMD stock pops on TSMC earnings

AMD’s primary manufacturing partner, TSMC, released stellar financial results on Thursday.

Its earnings report highlighted robust demand for advanced nodes used in AI accelerators and high-performance computing.

Because Taiwan Semiconductor is a bellwether for the entire chip sector, its success is being viewed as a direct proxy for Advanced Micro Devices’ future growth – helping AMD shares pop today.

Geopolitical de-escalation is proving a tailwind

Investors are also cheering AMD because the broader sentiment is now shifting to “risk-on” amidst hopes of a Pakistan-brokered diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran.  

Islamabad’s efforts have helped calm global markets – especially the tech sector – which had been under pressure due to rising energy costs and supply chain concerns.

With oil prices stabilizing and the threat of a wider conflict receding, investors have started rolling back into high-growth semiconductor stocks.

AMD shares rally on bullish analyst revisions

Wall Street sentiment on AMD stock has also reached a fever pitch ahead of the company’s fiscal Q1 earnings on May 5.

Several analysts, including Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon, have raised their price targets (some as high as $365) on Advanced Micro Devices, citing the underappreciated scale of its META partnership.

There’s growing excitement surrounding the upcoming MI400 series AI chips and the ROCm 7.0 software stack, which analysts believe will help AMD further steal share from Nvidia in the global enterprise AI market.

Technical momentum is adding fuel to the fire

Sustained upside in Advanced Micro Devices has helped it rip through its major moving averages (MAs) in recent sessions – reinforcing that it’s now in a “strong uptrend” that’s unlikely to subside anytime soon.

And while the firm’s relative strength index (RSI) is currently in the late 70s, signalling a near-term decline, AMD’s bullish MACD expansion suggests it may succeed in keeping momentum moving forward.

Note that AMD has gained more than 35% in just over two weeks. Historically, such “compressed momentum” indicates early stages of a sustained re-rating rather than a temporary spike.

What options data suggests about AMD’s direction

According to Barchart, options pricing continues to demonstrate a bullish skew.

The upper price on contracts expiring mid-July sits at roughly $314 currently, indicating potential upside of about 18% from AMD shares’ current levels.