AppLovin Surges 11% While Tempus AI and Micron Also Outpace Most AI Stocks

AI stocks generally rose last week as the VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 1.8%. The sector continues to have a broad divergence as software stocks struggle in 2026 and certain segments of semiconductors like memory and networking see strong gains. Let’s dive into some of the biggest news across the past week with some notable winners that include AppLovin, Tempus AI, and Micron.

The Big Picture

Semiconductors led the broader AI market, with SMH outpacing every major index on the week.

AI Sector Weekly Scorecard

AppLovin: Morgan Stanley Raises Target to $800

It hasn’t been a strong 2026 for AppLovin, but last week did provide some relief.

AppLovin surged to lead the sector after Morgan Stanley raised its price target, maintaining an Overweight rating. That call centers on AppLovin’s AXON AI engine, which powers its mobile advertising platform and has been the engine behind a remarkable earnings run. In Q4 2025, AppLovin reported revenue of $1.66 billion, up 66% year over year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 84%. Investors sold off the stock despite the strong results, but recent defense of its valuation from Wall Street has led to a bounceback.

Despite the weekly pop, AppLovin is still down roughly 38% year to date from its January highs, which has the Reddit community debating whether the valuation reset has created an entry point. One thread on r/stocks asked pointedly whether AppLovin has gone from overvalued to now cheap. With a consensus analyst target near $668 and the stock sitting around $419, the gap between its current price and analyst consensus is roughly 59%.

Tempus AI: Record Contract Value Fuels Double-Digit Gain

Tempus AI jumped last month on the back of a preliminary Q4 2025 report showing revenue of $367 million, up 83% year over year, and a record total contract value exceeding $1.1 billion. The diagnostics segment was the standout, growing 121% year over year. CEO Eric Lefkofsky set the tone heading into 2026:

“We enter 2026 in an exceptionally strong position.”

— Eric Lefkofsky, CEO, Tempus AI

In specific news this week, Tempus announced a new Pan-Cancer HRD-RNA algorithm, which likely added to enthusiasm around the stock. Still, shares are down more than 20% from their October peak despite recent gains.

Tempus is building the data layer for AI-driven oncology and precision medicine. Net revenue retention of 126% tells you existing customers are spending more every year, which is the clearest signal of product-market fit in a healthcare SaaS business. Full Q4 results are due February 24, after market close. With Tempus having already released preliminary results you wouldn’t expect major movement, but many AI stocks trade less on last quarter’s results and more on management commentary around upcoming demand.

Micron: BofA Raises Target on AI Memory Demand

Micron Technology gained on the week after Bank of America raised its price target, citing accelerating demand for high-bandwidth memory in AI infrastructure. The bull case is straightforward: every AI data center being built needs HBM, and Micron is one of three companies on the planet that can supply it at scale.

In its fiscal Q1 2026, Micron reported cloud memory revenue of $5.28 billion, up nearly 100% year over year, at a 66% gross margin. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has called Micron an “essential AI enabler,” and the numbers back that up. The analyst community agrees: 37 of 43 analysts rate the stock a buy or strong buy.

Names to Watch

• Alphabet gained 3.03% on the week. Reports surfaced that Alphabet is actively exploring ways to challenge Nvidia in the AI chip market. The company has the balance sheet for it, with $175 to $185 billion in planned 2026 capital expenditures.
• Intel was the among the week’s worst performers in the AI space, falling 5.73%. Despite a compelling AI server CPU narrative, margin concerns continue to weigh. Reddit sentiment for Intel sat at a bearish 32 to open the week.
• Nvidia held steady with a 3.83% gain as traders positioned ahead of its Q4 FY2026 earnings report. Prediction markets show 93.5% confidence in an earnings beat. Analysts carry a consensus target of $254, roughly 34% above current levels.
• CoreWeave and Snowflake pulled back modestly on the week, down 7.07% and 5.37% respectively, as investors rotated toward the cleaner earnings stories.

All eyes now turn to Nvidia’s Q4 FY2026 earnings report on February 25, after market close. With guidance of $65 billion in revenue already on the table and nearly 94% of prediction market participants expecting a beat, the real question is not whether Nvidia delivers but whether the guidance is enough to push the sector to new highs. That answer arrives in 48 hours.