AMD Shares Pop on Pre-Earnings Price-Target Hikes

The chip concern is slated to report earnings later this week

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) are higher in early trading, with help from a pair of price-target hikes. Ahead of AMD's expected earnings release on Wednesday, Oct. 24, BMO and UBS lifted their targets on the shares to $20 and $25, respectively. Separately, software firm Acceleware announced a $2.5 million deal to provide custom software engineering resources to AMD. At last check, AMD stock is up 5%, at $24.85.

Advanced Micro Devices has been a long-term outperformer on the charts, advancing 142% year-to-date. The shares hit a 12-year high of $34.14 on Sept.13, but subsequently pulled back with the broader equities market, ultimately finding support in the $24 area.

As alluded to earlier, the chip concern is set to report earnings later this week. The shares have moved higher after the last three earnings releases, including a 14.3% one-day rally back in July, and a 13.7% surge in late April. Should the company once again exceed expectations, more upbeat analyst attention could be in store. Currently, 13 of the 23 brokerage firms following Advanced Micro Devices stock sport tepid "hold" or "strong sell" ratings.

Lastly, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) is 95 out of 100. This lofty ranking shows that AMD has a tendency to make larger-than-expected moves on the charts compared to what the options market has priced in over the past year -- a boon for premium buyers haead of earnings.