For AMD Ryzen Chips, Will Gains In Mindshare Lead To Market Share?

The latest channel checks by Bank of America suggest Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD is gaining some traction with its latest-generation chips. According to analyst Vivek Arya, AMD’s new line of Ryzen processors is gaining momentum based on early sales at online retailers such as Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Best Buy Co Inc BBY. If AMD maintains its positive momentum following the launch of Ryzen earlier this year and its high-end RX Vega graphics cards earlier this week, Arya said the company could be positioned for serious growth (see Arya's track record here).

Related Link: AMD Unveils New Radeon RX Vega GPUs

At its peak, AMD captured 23-percent unit share and 16-percent revenue share in the PC processor market, numbers Arya said could once again be in reach following the Ryzen launch. The PC processor business is a $30 billion global market, and Intel Corporation INTC currently owns nearly the entire share. AMD reportedly shipped 1.1 million Ryzen chips in the first half of 2017, merely a drop in the bucket when it comes to the 100-million-plus annual market.

But while Intel shareholders may need to be looking over their shoulders at AMD, Arya said NVDIA Corporation NVDA likely doesn’t need to be too concerned about losing share to Vega.

“We are skeptical AMD can gain meaningful share against NVDA, but see opportunities for AMD to benefit from secular growth in gaming, as well as n-t demand from cryptocurrency miners (initial Vega shipments appear to be sold-out),” Arya wrote.

Bank of America maintains a Buy rating for AMD and an $18 price target for the stock.