TLDR
- AMD has become the most under-owned semiconductor stock among fund managers despite 22% sales growth forecasts
- Active ownership dropped from 39% a year ago to just 20% in August, making it the least-owned chipmaker in the S&P 500
- Seaport Research Partners downgraded AMD from Buy to Neutral, citing concerns about AI accelerator business momentum
- Analyst warns that initial customer purchases may not convert to volume orders for AMD’s AI systems
- Bank of America maintains Buy rating, expecting benefits from AI demand and Intel market share gains
Advanced Micro Devices finds itself in an unusual position. The chipmaker has become the least-owned semiconductor stock among active fund managers, even as analysts project strong sales growth.
Bank of America data shows active ownership of AMD dropped to just 20% of fund managers in August. This marks a steep decline from 23% in May and 39% a year earlier.
The company’s relative weighting versus the S&P 500 fell to 0.16 times. This represents a 5% drop from the prior quarter and an 80% decline year-over-year.
The ownership decline comes despite consensus forecasts calling for 22% sales growth for AMD. The stock has also outperformed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index during the same period.
AMD shares gained 34% in 2025 through Wednesday’s close. The performance stands in contrast to the falling institutional interest.
Analyst Concerns About AI Progress
Seaport Research Partners recently downgraded AMD from Buy to Neutral. Analyst Jay Goldberg removed his price target, expressing concerns about near-term AI expectations.
The firm believes AMD may be struggling to increase orders from many customers. Some initial purchases are unlikely to convert into volume orders for AMD’s new AI systems.
“Our recent conversations across the supply chain point to AMD experiencing slowing progress with its AI accelerator business,” Goldberg wrote. He thinks this makes it challenging for the company to meet high expectations this year.
Seaport also expressed concern about AMD’s progress at Microsoft and Meta. Both hyperscalers may be re-evaluating their AI spending plans.
Microsoft has indicated its capital expenditure growth will slow in 2026. Meta’s CFO Susan Li said the company would “ramp our investments” on the second-quarter earnings call.
Contrasting Views on Market Position
Not all analysts share Seaport’s cautious outlook. Truist Securities upgraded AMD to Buy from Hold just over a week before the Seaport downgrade.
Truist analyst William Stein noted that hyperscalers are working with AMD “in a partnership manner.” He said contacts express “true interest in deploying AMD at scale.”
Bank of America maintains its Buy rating on the stock. The firm expects AMD to benefit from rising artificial intelligence demand and continued market share gains from Intel.
“We reiterate Buy and expect it to benefit from rising tide of AI deployments and continued share gains,” BofA analysts said.
The difference in analyst opinion may be about timing rather than AMD’s long-term prospects. Seaport isn’t dismissing AMD as an AI competitor but questions the immediate timeline.
AMD made a strong push this year to compete with Nvidia in artificial intelligence chips. The company unveiled new AI chip series in June, which Meta Platforms and Oracle Cloud said they would use.
Nvidia remains the most widely held semiconductor stock. Fund managers own it at 75%, with a relative weighting of 1.11 times versus the S&P 500.
Semiconductor holdings overall were at 0.95 times relative weighting in August. This compares to 1.01 times at the end of 2024 but higher than 0.90 times in April.
