After Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar rated the company as &#34;top pick&#34; and maintained a buy rating on the stock, shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) rose by 7.8% in pre-market trading.The analyst cited reasons for optimism in the second half of this year, stating, &#34;Currently, the MI300 is performing very well, with sales expected to exceed $4 billion this year...&#34;Harsh continued, &#34;AMD has a series of new chips set to launch later this year and in 2025 to support the MI300. Firstly, the MI325 is expected to launch later this year, followed by the MI350 in 2025. Finally, we anticipate the MI400 to launch in 2026. We note that both the MI325 and 350 will feature the next-generation HBM3E memory. The MI350 will also adopt CDNA4 and the 3nm process node, competing with the Blackwell architecture, while the MI400 is expected to compete with Rubin. Overall, AMD currently has over 100 customers using the MI300, with key customers including Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle.&#34;Source: Kayode Omotosho.

It is expected that the MI300 will perform very well, with sales expected to exceed USD 4 billion this year

1. Core descriptive facts:
   - Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar rated AMD as "top pick" and maintained a buy rating, leading to a 7.8% stock price increase.
   - Harsh Kumar expressed optimism for AMD in the second half of the year, citing strong performance of MI300 and expected sales exceeding $4 billion.
2. Points and supporting logic:
   - Harsh Kumar highlighted upcoming chip releases to support MI300: MI325 later this year, MI350 in 2025, and MI400 in 2026.
   - MI325 and MI350 feature HBM3E next-gen memory, with MI350 utilizing CDNA4 and 3nm process nodes to compete with Blackwell architecture.
   - MI400 is expected to compete with Rubin architecture.
   - Over 100 customers, including major ones like Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle, are currently using MI300.
Overall, the analyst's positive outlook on AMD is based on the company's strong product roadmap, upcoming chip releases, advanced technologies like HBM3E and 3nm nodes, as well as the significant customer base already using MI300.

Why is AMD's stock price soaring?