AMD addition to Nasdaq-100 a 'small near-term positive', says RBC Capital. RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves notes the addition of AMD (AMD) to the Nasdaq-100 index announced late on Friday, which also contained the inclusion of lululemon (LULU), NetApp (NTAP), United Continental Holdings (UAL), VeriSign (VRSN) and Willis Towers Watson (WLTW) and the subtraction of Express Scripts Holding (ESRX), Hologic (HOLX), Qurate Retail (QRTEA), Shire (SHPG), Seagate Technology (STX) and Vodafone Plc (VOD). The analyst believes that the change - which will become effective before the market open on December 24th - could act as a "small near-term positive" for AMD shares, even though it does not change its fundamentals. Longer term, the analyst keeps his Outperform rating and $34 price target on AMD, but warns that the company is faced with a crypto currency downdraft in the Gaming segment and that he is also cautious on the hyperscale spending trends next year which he estimates in the low single digits. Steves adds that the notable investor debate is also taking place around the AMD server average selling prices, which he sees coming in around $5,400 - the higher end of the more bullish forecasts of $5K-$6K vs. the bears' estimate around $4K.
