Bank of America made a bold call on Marvell Technology (MRVL) on Friday morning, changing its rating from Neutral to Buy and raising its price target to $110 from $90. The move came hours after Marvell reported spectacular fiscal fourth-quarter results that sent shares up more than 16%.
The update came at the right time. Marvell shares had spent much of last year under pressure, trading well below its 52-week high of $102.77. Now, Wall Street is paying close attention again.
Analyst Vivek Arya, who covers semiconductors at Bank of America, pointed to two specific catalysts for the upgrade: Marvell’s growing strength in optical AI connectivity and the marked improvement in visibility of custom chip programs with both Microsoft and Amazon.
Marvell’s March 5 earnings call gave Arya and her team a reason to be more aggressive. The company reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $8.19 billion, a record, up 42% year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue reached $2.219 billion, coming in above the midpoint of Marvell’s own guidance.
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Non-GAAP earnings per share for the quarter hit $0.80, a cent above the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.79. Shares rose to around $90 in Friday trading, up about 20% from Thursday’s close of $75.68.
Arya noted that the earnings call significantly increased his confidence in three things: Marvell’s position in optical AI connectivity, the trajectory of its transition to Amazon XPU (custom processor), and the potential scale of its upcoming Microsoft chip program.
Q4 revenue: $2.219 billion, up 22% year-over-year
Full fiscal 2026 revenue: $8.195 billion, up 42% year-over-year
Data center revenue in the fourth quarter: $1.65 billion, a quarterly record
Full-year non-GAAP EPS: $2.84, up 81% year-over-year
The data center segment, which accounted for 74% of total revenue, is where the real story is written. Custom silicon revenue rose from nearly zero to $1.5 billion in just one fiscal year, doubling in fiscal 2026. CEO Matt Murphy said on the earnings call that custom revenue is expected to grow more than 20% in fiscal 2027 and at least double again in fiscal 2028.
Marvell’s product suite is extensive. Its 1.6T optical interconnects entered volume production in the second half of fiscal 2026, and the company expects revenue to grow very quickly this year. Data center switching revenue exceeded $300 million in fiscal 2026 and is expected to exceed $600 million in fiscal 2027.
Murphy told analysts that design achievements in fiscal 2026 hit an all-time high, and bookings “accelerated at a record pace” heading into fiscal 2027. He said the company is still in what he described as the early stages of a strong multi-year growth cycle.
Custom XPU silicon: expected to grow more than 20% in fiscal 2027, at least double in fiscal 2028
1.6T Optical Interconnects: Entered production in H2 FY2026 and ramped up rapidly
Data center shift: expected to exceed $600 million in fiscal 2027
XPU and CXL Deputy: Expected to Double Each Year, Potentially Reaching $1 Billion Source: Marvell Q4 Earnings Release
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images ·David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The guidance Marvell offered for the coming years gave the bulls plenty of fuel. The company raised its outlook to grow more than 30% year over year, approaching $11 billion. It then went further and projected fiscal 2028 revenue of about $15 billion, about $2 billion more than the outlook it had provided in December 2025.
Murphy attributed the upward revision to better visibility and concrete commitments to customers, particularly in the interconnection business. He said the forecast is based on the demand the company is seeing right now, not a speculative pipeline.
Non-GAAP EPS for fiscal 2028 is expected to reach more than $5, a figure that would represent a dramatic increase from the $2.84 reported in fiscal 2026.
Bank of America wasn’t the only one that became more optimistic. According to analyst reports, JPMorgan raised its price target for Marvell to $135. Susquehanna has a Buy rating with a target of $140. Rosenblatt also has a target of $140 after the earnings release, and both Stifel and Wolfe Research are at $130.
The average analyst price target across 38 companies stands at about $113, which is about 49% higher than Thursday’s closing price. The consensus remains firmly in Buy territory.
Bank of America’s Arya called Marvell’s current valuation compelling, noting that the stock trades at about 16 times estimated calendar-year 2027 earnings, compared with peers trading at about 29 times. The company views the $110 target as conservative relative to its bullish stance, with a discounted cash flow model pointing toward $130 if fiscal 2028 earnings projections hold.
For investors watching the AI ​​semiconductor space, Marvell’s earnings and the flurry of analyst upgrades that followed are a sign that the company’s quiet build into custom silicon and optical interconnects is starting to show up in the numbers in a very big way. The question now is whether the stock will be able to maintain its gains as expectations sharply reset.
Related: Bank of America renews Amazon stock price target
This story was originally published by TheStreet on March 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investments section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
