On Tuesday, Citi reiterated its Buy rating for AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), maintaining a price target of $192. This affirmation comes as part of the firm's analysis of US Semiconductor stocks, which highlighted February's notebook shipments as surpassing expectations.
Despite a month-over-month decrease of 2% in February notebook shipments, the performance was more robust than anticipated. Citi attributes this trend to a surge in demand for Dell's commercial PCs. This development is seen as a positive sign after a less optimistic January, where notebook shipments fell short of expectations.
Analysts at Citi have revised the first-quarter 2024 estimate for notebook shipments from a 14% quarter-over-quarter decline to a 12% decrease. This updated forecast is notably better than the typical seasonal downturn of 17% and is influenced by the introduction of new products.
While the February figures are encouraging, they follow a disappointing January. Citi anticipates a continuation of this pattern of fluctuating monthly notebook shipment figures throughout 2024 as the PC recovery cycle stabilizes.
In addition to AMD, the firm also maintains its Neutral stance on Intel. Citi's EPS projection for AMD in calendar year 2024 stands at $2.75, which falls below the consensus estimate of $3.40. Conversely, their EPS forecast for Intel is $0.81, exceeding the consensus of $0.55.