Marvell Technology continues to attract bullish analyst attention as UBS raised its price target on the semiconductor firm to $340 from $230, implying roughly 27.5% upside from Friday's close. The upgrade underscores growing conviction that the company's Compute Express Link (CXL) products will benefit from surging AI infrastructure spending.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri noted that CXL—a cache-coherent, low-latency interconnect built on PCIe—is becoming essential for AI data centers that require memory systems with higher capacity and faster data movement. "CXL is becoming a critical enabling technology," Arcuri wrote, adding that Marvell currently holds the leading market share in CXL products, though Astera Labs is expected to emerge as a larger competitor over time.
The brokerage estimates the addressable market for CXL-related ASIC attachment products could grow to between $7 billion and $10 billion by 2030. UBS also raised its price target on Astera Labs to $400 from $205 while maintaining a Neutral rating, reflecting the broader opportunity in next-generation connectivity.
UBS increased its revenue forecasts for Marvell over the next two years, projecting CXL-related revenue to reach approximately $1 billion in 2027, driven primarily by XPU connectivity inside AI server racks and growing demand for agentic AI running on CPUs. The firm expects CXL revenue to climb to roughly $2 billion in 2028. Overall, UBS raised its 2027 revenue estimate to $16.8 billion from $16.5 billion and its 2028 forecast to $23.9 billion from $21.9 billion. Earnings-per-share estimates were lifted to $6.23 for 2027 and $9.62 for 2028, up from $6.09 and $8.60, respectively.
Marvell, now valued at roughly $233 billion, has posted 34% revenue growth over the past 12 months, and its shares have surged about 190% in 2026, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500. The stock was trading about 1% lower on Monday, however, as markets digest the news.
Beyond CXL, analysts increasingly view Marvell's networking business as a key growth driver. Earlier this month, KeyBanc raised its price target by 48% to $385, citing optimism about the company's optical networking business. Analyst John Vinh argued that networking represents "the most significant and durable growth opportunity," estimating the addressable market could reach approximately $30 billion by 2030. Marvell supplies digital signal processors used in optical transceivers, which are critical for moving massive volumes of data in AI data centers.
For context on the broader AI-driven market dynamics, see our coverage of the AI-Driven Stock Rally Diverges from Sluggish US Economy: Moody's Explains and Seagate Shares Surge After Wells Fargo Upgrade on AI-Driven HDD Demand.
While Marvell currently leads the CXL market, competition is expected to intensify as adoption expands. UBS sees Astera Labs and Broadcom becoming more significant players over time. The company's custom ASIC business for hyperscale cloud providers has long been a beneficiary of the AI boom, but networking is now viewed as a potentially more durable growth engine.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
