Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is Up 10.6% in 2014 Plus Other Good News

So far, it's a good year for chip maker Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NYSE: AMD) and its shareholders as shares are already up 10.6% since the start of the year. I should mention that we have had AMD in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since last July and its been a bumpy ride for us. Nevertheless, we are up about 8% thanks to those gains so far this year. Moreover, the following largely good news points to further gains this year:

CES Presentations. Along with other tech leaders from around the world, Advanced Micro Devices made a splash at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas where attendees got to see a whole array of innovations powered by the latest AMD APU and graphics technologies. According to the company press release about CES, the star of the show is the ground-breaking "Surround House 2: Monsters in the Orchestra," a 360-degree surround-computing demonstration that leverages the computing capabilities of AMD technologies to create an immersive, first-of-its-kind audiovisual and interactive experience. In addition, there is a page on AMD's website (click here) dedicated to CES plus a company presentation from the show can be viewed here. Xbox and Playstation Sales. On Monday, Reuters reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) had announced that sales of its new Xbox One game console have topped three million at the end of last year after its launch in November with sales being in line with expectations according to Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities who also estimates that Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation sales stand around the 3 million mark. However and during a keynote speech at the CES Show on Tuesday, Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group CEO Andrew House said they have actually sold 4.2 million PlayStation 4 units worldwide as of December 28, 2013 - more than 1 million units higher than what some analysts like Pachter were predicting. It should be mentioned though that Sony enjoyed a one-week advantage in 2013 by releasing the PS4 on November 15, compared to the November 22 release of the Xbox One. Either way, Advance Micro Devices comes out a winner because it developed or supplied chips for both devices. A Law Firm Starts "Investigating." Holzer & Holzer, LLC, a so-called "Shareholder rights" law firm, is "investigating" whether Advanced Micro Devices and/or certain of its officers complied with the federal securities laws when making statements to investors between October 27, 2011 and October 18, 2012. Specifically, the investigation focuses on:

"…statements issued by AMD regarding demand for the Company's 32 nanometer "Llano" Accelerated Processing Unit. On October 18, 2012 the Company announced disappointing financial results for the third quarter of 2012, which included a substantial write-down of its inventory value."

Of course and just like with cockroaches, where there are lawyers, there are usually more of them ready to appear - if they sense an opportunity to make a quick buck. So keep an eye out for more press releases from other lawyers wanting to "protect" investor rights.

Traders Look For Gains. OptionMonster has noticed some heavy and bullish option trading activity. To begin with, a trader sold 6,265 February 4 puts for $0.25 in volume in order to profit from AMD being anywhere above $4 at expiration. Then 13,500 each of the February 5 and April 5.50 calls traded for $0.17 in what appears to be a short diagonal spread with the trader buying the February calls and selling the longer-dated, higher-strike contracts to offset the cost in a limited bullish play.  Share Performance. Advanced Micro Devices is already up 10.6% since the start of the year, up 61.4% over the past year and up 75.6% over the past five years, but again, it has not always been a smooth ride for investors as you can see in the following performance chart:

Finally, here is a look at the latest technical chart for AMD:

With the above good news in mind, things are looking up for investors in AMD for the new year.

SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) has an open position in AMD. To find out what other open positions SCN EO currently has, and to learn why so many traders and investors are relying on this premium subscription service, click here to find out more.