AMD's Record Run Meets Profit-Taking as ARK and Insider Cash Out

AMD shares have surged to a new 52-week high on the back of a standout first quarter that crushed analyst expectations. Yet rather than basking in the euphoria, two major holders are quietly heading for the exit: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and the chipmaker’s own chief strategy officer.

The disconnect between stellar operational performance and selling pressure is sharp. ARK shed AMD stock worth more than $100 million across a series of trades between late April and early May, while Paul Darren Grasby, AMD’s chief strategy officer, offloaded roughly 24,400 shares on May 8 for nearly $10.8 million. Grasby’s sale came just days after AMD reported a quarterly profit of $1.37 per share on revenue of $10.25 billion – both figures comfortably above the $1.29 and $10.1 billion the Street had penciled in.

ARK’s selloff was no hasty retreat. The fund manager executed the disposals in tranches: nearly $6 million in April, two slugs of roughly $33 million each, and a final batch on May 8 that netted around $18.8 million from 46,034 shares across the ARKK, ARKW and ARKF ETFs. In total, the ARKK component alone accounted for about $79.9 million of the sales. The timing is particularly notable – ARK was trimming its position right through AMD’s strongest earnings window in years, including the day of the quarterly presentation itself.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying AMD?

The proceeds are being redeployed into names ARK believes have more room to run. Alphabet, Meta and Shopify feature on the buy list, alongside a fresh stake of 113,076 shares in CoreWeave and a roughly $8 million position in Tempus AI. Inside the company, Grasby’s stock sale – the largest single insider transaction of note – adds to the picture without necessarily signalling a loss of faith; such sales are often pre-planned under trading programs.

What makes the valuation debate so acute is the sheer distance AMD has travelled. The stock has more than doubled since the start of the year and now trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of around 92 on an adjusted basis. A broader measure puts that multiple closer to 135, compared with an industry average of roughly 60 and a peer average of 38. Nvidia, by contrast, commands a P/E of 43.5, underscoring how much future growth the market is already pricing into AMD.

That growth narrative remains intact. AMD guided for second-quarter revenue of roughly $11.2 billion, implying year-over-year expansion of about 46%. Data centre revenue hit a record $5.8 billion in Q1, up 57% from a year earlier, and CEO Lisa Su has projected that the server market will swell to over $120 billion by 2030, driven by the rise of agentic AI. Free cash flow more than tripled to $2.6 billion in the first quarter.

Yet the risks are equally plain. Citi has adopted a cautiously constructive stance, preferring to wait for evidence that AMD’s next-generation MI450 GPU and the Helios racks – planned for the second half of 2026 – can gain meaningful traction. Export restrictions on AI chips continue to cloud margin and volume prospects. And with the stock already reflecting so much optimism, the second half of the year will be the real test: AMD must deliver on its GPU roadmap to justify a valuation that leaves little room for error.

Ad

AMD Stock: New Analysis - 13 May

Fresh AMD information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.

Read our updated AMD analysis...

en | US0079031078 | AMDS | boerse | 69323642 |