# Why Nvidia rival AMD may see a 40% rip in its stock > Source: > Published: 2026-08-25 16:47:20+00:00 A screaming buying opportunity may exist in AMD ([AMD](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AMD/)) after a post-earnings sell-off earlier this month. Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold upgraded his rating on AMD to Strong Buy from Outperform in a new note on Tuesday. He lifted his price target to $641 from $565, which assumes neatly 40% upside from current price levels. The new price target puts Leopold above the average price target of his peers at $613, per [Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace](https://finance.yahoo.com/about/promos/gold/alphaspace?100003557) data. About 72% of Wall Street analysts that cover AMD rate the stock a Strong Buy or Buy. AMD stock rose 5% in afternoon trading in response. Leopold thinks AMD, with its powerful AI chips, will be a key player in the agent-driven workforce. Moreover, he sees the server central processing unit (CPU) market increasing at a 44% five-year compound annual growth rate to about $201 billion by 2030. "AMD offers the strongest combination of direct earnings leverage, datacenter positioning and market-share gains," Leopold said. The chipmaker has had a series of wins this summer. AMD beat Wall Street expectations across the board for the second quarter earlier this month, posting record non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.66 versus consensus estimates of $1.61. Total revenue surged 50% year over year to a record $11.5 billion, clearing analyst projections of approximately $11.34 billion. The strong top- and bottom-line performance was fueled by the company's Data Center segment. Revenue more than doubled year over year to $6.7 billion behind robust demand for EPYC server CPUs and Instinct AI accelerators. AMD projected second-half 2026 server CPU revenue to grow 80% year over year and 70% in 2027. It expects data center revenues to more than double in 2027, with AI graphics processing units (GPUs) growing well over 100%. AMD also unveiled its next-generation AI chips, headlined by the Instinct MI450 Series GPUs and the 6th Gen EPYC Venice CPUs. The new chips are designed to power AMD's [new Helios rack-scale AI systems](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/article/amd-launches-helios-system-in-direct-challenge-to-nvidias-ai-dominance-183000104.html), which combine GPUs, CPUs, networking, and software into an integrated platform for training and running large AI models. The product announcement came alongside two important new deals. AMD said Microsoft ([MSFT](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSFT/)) will deploy Helios across Azure AI services beginning in the second half of 2026. It also announced a major tie-up with Anthropic ([ANTH.PVT](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ANTH.PVT/)) that significantly expands its push to challenge rival Nvidia in the AI infrastructure market. Anthropic plans to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of the Instinct MI450 GPUs in its Helios system beginning in the first half of 2027 — a deal that could be worth tens of billions of dollars over time. AMD also committed to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic, marking one of the chipmaker's largest strategic investments ever.