8 Months Ago, A Major Wall Street Bank Said Buy Marvell. It’s Up More Than 150%. Here’s Where We See the Stock Going
BofA upgraded Marvell into a brutal slide and the stock went on a wild ride that has left investors wondering whether the latest pullback is another gift or the beginning of something worse.
On March 6, 2026, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL | MRVL Price Prediction) was a bruised AI name. Shares had fallen about 24% in the three months before, and the company had reported its fiscal fourth quarter the evening before. That morning, BofA analyst Vivek Arya upgraded Marvell to Buy from Neutral with a $110 price target.
Measured from the adjusted March 5 close of $75.61, Marvell is up about 159% to $195.97. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) gained about 10.9% over that period.
That number hides a violent ride. Marvell more than quadrupled to $329.73 on June 18, 2026, then fell about 40.6% from that high. So is this pullback a second chance or a warning?
Why BofA Flipped to Buy After a Steep Slide
BofA’s upgrade came without a detailed public thesis, so the earnings report supplies the background. Marvell posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $2.2187B, up 22.1% year over year and ahead of estimates, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.80 against a $0.79 estimate. CEO Matt Murphy said at the time, “We expect year-over-year revenue growth to accelerate each quarter in fiscal 2027.”
The Street stacked up behind that message. Rosenblatt raised its target to $140 on a Buy, pointing to “insatiable demand” for compute in hyperscale data centers. Stifel went to $120 on a Buy, calling the report “validation of Marvell’s execution and investments.” JPMorgan moved to $135 on Overweight. Goldman Sachs said Marvell raised its calendar 2027 data center growth outlook to 50%, including 100% growth in custom compute and more than $5.00 in non-GAAP earnings power, yet stayed Neutral with a $100 target. Morgan Stanley held Equal Weight at $103.
What Happened Next Made BofA Look Brilliant
BofA lifted its target to $200 on May 13, 2026. Marvell’s May 27 report showed revenue of $2.4178B, up 27.6%, and management significantly raised its outlook for both fiscal 2027 and 2028 on “exceptional AI-related bookings.” The stock traded at $213.58 at the time of that report, far past BofA’s original target. The next day, JPMorgan and BofA each went to $240, and KeyBanc went to $260. KeyBanc raised again to $385 on June 18, the day of the high.
August delivered the second leg. Fiscal second-quarter revenue hit $2.7393B, data center sales rose 46% to 79% of revenue, and management lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to approximately $12 billion. Marvell also expanded its custom silicon partnership with Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), including a warrant letting Google acquire up to 7% of Marvell’s shares tied to revenue targets.
Arya’s call was spot on. Arya stepped in after a slide, the morning after a beat-and-raise, and the business delivered acceleration every quarter since.
BofA Kept Raising the Bar as the Stock Cracked
On October 7, 2026, BofA raised its target to $400, and TD Cowen upgraded to Buy at $350. The stock went the other way. Marvell dropped 10.24% in the latest session as chip stocks sold off after Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) reported earnings and a weak PC forecast (per sector reports). Bloomberg also reported Marvell is near a megadeal for Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE), a large optics acquisition that adds execution risk.
Where We See Marvell Going
Marvell trades at $195.97, inside a 52-week range of $70.62 to $329.73. That is roughly 74x trailing earnings of $2.64 per share, a multiple that only works if the growth guide holds. The Street is lopsided, with 8 Strong Buy ratings, 32 Buys, 6 Holds and 0 Sells, and an average target of $340.56.
Our one-year base-case target is $267.29, implying about 36.4% upside from today. That sits below both the Street average and BofA’s $400, because we discount for deal risk and a volatile chip sector.
- Bull case, $350.26: Data center revenue grows the approximately 60% management expects for fiscal 2027, custom compute doubles in fiscal 2028 as guided, and hyperscale spending holds.
- Bear case, $206.17: Hyperscalers slow spending, custom programs slip, and the chip selloff deepens, keeping the stock near current levels for a year.
Even our bear case sits above today’s price, which tells you how much fear the last month has priced in. We still see meaningful upside for Marvell after the pullback. The main risk is concentration: most revenue rides on a handful of hyperscalers, and a Google warrant for up to 7% of shares plus a possible Lumentum deal mean shareholders could take on dilution exactly when growth needs to prove itself. The flip side is that the same hyperscaler expansion feeding Marvell also flows into power, cooling, and networking suppliers (we covered seven of those non-chip AI beneficiaries in a free report here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom).
The lesson from BofA’s call: when a beat-and-raise lands on a beaten-down stock, treat the first price target as the analyst’s opening bid.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
