Susquehanna joins Marvell Technology (MRVL.US) in the bullish camp ahead of earnings: Continues to see explosive AI network demand, raises target price to $265

According to Zhitong Finance APP, in the ongoing boom of AI infrastructure investment, Marvell Technology (MRVL.US) has become the most closely watched focus in the semiconductor market this week. As a core supplier of custom AI chips and high-speed interconnects, the company will announce its Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings after the market close on Thursday, August 27th. Ahead of the earnings release, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland sharply raised the target price from $230 to $265 while maintaining a "Buy" rating. In addition, other Wall Street analysts have also raised their price targets intensively this week. Institutions such as Rosenblatt and Wells Fargo are collectively optimistic, generally expecting the company to deliver "results that exceed expectations and raise guidance."

Earnings Expectations: $2.71 Billion in Revenue, Up 35% Year-over-Year

The market has fairly consistent expectations for Marvell Technology's performance this quarter. According to data from Visible Alpha and Zacks, analysts generally expect:

Marvell Technology's previous official guidance was for revenue of $2.7 billion (±5%) and adjusted EPS of $0.93 (±$0.05). Market expectations almost entirely fall at the midpoint of the company's guidance. Data center business remains the absolute core driver. The company's stock price has risen nearly 180% year-to-date, ranking among the best performers in the S&P 500. Data center revenue in Q1 reached $1.83 billion, up 27% year-on-year, accounting for 76% of total revenue. As hyperscale customers such as Amazon (AMZN.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), and Google (GOOGL.US) continue to ramp up investments in AI infrastructure, the market will closely watch whether Q3 guidance can sustain this high-growth trend.

Options market pricing indicates that Marvell Technology's stock price could experience approximately 11.3% volatility in either direction after earnings.

Susquehanna: Price Target Raised to $265, AI Networking Becomes Core Driver

Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland raised his price target to $265 from $230 ahead of the earnings report, maintaining a "Positive" rating. In his report to clients, Rolland wrote that he expects improved earnings and guidance, "primarily driven by strong growth in the AI networking business."

Rolland specifically highlighted the growth potential of Marvell’s high-speed optical communications segment Inphi— the company expects Inphi to grow over 70% by 2027, far above previous targets. In the custom XPU segment, Rolland noted AWS has raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $220 billion (previously about $200 billion), and Marvell’s ongoing collaboration with Amazon on Trainium chips is "eye-catching" and "remains solid."

More notably, Rolland reaffirmed Marvell’s goal of reaching about $10 billion in custom business revenue by fiscal 2029 — which implies another significant acceleration from the estimated $4 billion base in fiscal 2028. He also pointed out that the agreement with Google covers about $120 billion in custom product business, valid through 2033. This partnership could further boost Marvell's custom XPU targets for fiscal 2028 and 2029.

Wall Street Makes Collective Upgrades: From Rosenblatt to Wells Fargo, Highest Price Target Reaches $310

Susquehanna is not the only firm raising its target price ahead of the earnings report.

Rosenblatt Securities analyst Sajal Dogra sharply raised the target price from $240 to $300, maintaining a "Buy" rating. Dogra expects strong Q2 results, with the optical interconnect business expected to achieve over 25% sequential growth. Rosenblatt forecasts Marvell can achieve about $10.50 in EPS by fiscal 2029.

Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers lifted his target price from $240 to $310, maintaining a "Buy" rating. Rakers views the Google custom AI chip deal as a "significant incremental positive," predicting the transaction could boost EPS by about $2 by fiscal 2029, and expects Marvell to deliver about $11 in EPS by FY29.

UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri raised his target price from $300 to $310. Benchmark analyst Cody Acree maintained a "Buy" rating with a target price of $275. Additionally, Oppenheimer, Citi, and Jefferies have all recently raised their price targets fueled by stronger AI demand, hyperscale spending, or the custom chip pipeline.

Currently, Wall Street's consensus rating for Marvell Technology is "Strong Buy," with an average target price of about $291, implying around 27% upside from the current price of about $237.

Biggest Highlight: Google’s $120 Billion Mega-Deal and Custom Chip Business Expansion

On August 19, Marvell Technology announced a major agreement with Google— allowing Google to purchase up to $120 billion worth of custom chip products by 2033, covering AI inference accelerators, storage controllers, network interface cards, and components related to the TPU ecosystem. As part of the agreement, Google received warrants to purchase up to 58.97 million shares of Marvell Technology stock at an exercise price of $206.58, accounting for about 7% of the company’s total shares outstanding.

This agreement further solidifies Marvell’s strategic position in the hyperscale custom chip market. Previously, Marvell has been the core partner for Amazon’s Trainium and Microsoft’s Maia custom chips. Marvell CEO Matt Murphy previously stated that the company’s long-term goal is to capture 20% of the entire custom AI chip market.

However, the competitive landscape remains fierce— Broadcom (AVGO.US) is still a key partner for Google's TPU and is Marvell's strongest competitor in the custom AI chip space.

Higher Expectations and Valuation Challenges

Despite strong performance expectations, Marvell Technology’s biggest challenge comes from valuation. After almost 180% price surge this year, MRVL currently trades at about 17x forward price-to-sales and 74x forward price-to-earnings — making it one of the most highly valued companies in the S&P 500.

Rosenblatt pointed out that the Investor Day on October 6th might be a more significant valuation catalyst than this earnings release. The high valuation means any results that miss expectations or whose "beat is not large enough" could trigger a sharp pullback — which also explains the options market pricing for 10.6% implied volatility.