AMD turns positive on report activist investor Dan Loeb owns passive stake

By Yasin Ebrahim 

Investing.com -- AMD turned positive Thursday following a report that Third Point’s Dan Loeb, an activist investor, took a passive stake in the chipmaker, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) was up nearly 3% following the news after trading below the flatline intraday. 

Third Point took a stake in AMD when its shares were struggling, according to the report. But the chipmaker has seen its fortunes change since the start of the year after racking up a more than 20% gain.

Earlier this year, AMD delivered fourth-quarter results that beat on both the top and bottom lines, but "lowered the bar for Q1'23," Wedbush said in a January note, flagging weakness in personal computing and game sales. 

While there are some who believe that the semiconductor cycle will bottom in the first half of the year, setting the sector up for a recovery in the second half of the year, others point to rising competition and slower growth as headwinds for AMD. 

"This positive inflection into 2H23 will likely appeal to shorter-duration investors, but we remain concerned that relatively slower secular growth and rising competitive intensity will limit EPS and valuation upside. Consequently, we maintain our hold rating," Deutsche Bank said in a February note.