Marvell’s Optical and Custom Chip Engines Fuel Analyst Price Target Stampede to $300

The analyst community has piled into Marvell Technology with a flurry of upgraded price targets, led by HSBC’s new Street-high $300 call. The bullish consensus reflects a sweeping reassessment of two businesses the market had underappreciated: high-speed optical interconnects and bespoke silicon for hyperscale cloud operators.

Marvell’s first-quarter results for fiscal 2027 provided the catalyst. Revenue hit $2.418 billion, a 28% year-over-year jump and a 9% sequential gain. Non-GAAP net income reached $718 million, or $0.80 per share. Operating cash flow surged to a record $638.8 million, giving the company ample firepower to lock down supply chain capacity.

The data center segment remains the powerhouse, contributing $1.83 billion — 76% of total revenue — and advancing 27% from a year earlier. Within that, the interconnect business, which includes 800G and 1.6T optical modules used to link AI accelerators, is now expected to grow more than 70% this fiscal year, up from an earlier forecast of 50%. Custom silicon is on an even steeper trajectory: the company targets a doubling of that business in fiscal 2028 and more than $10 billion in annual revenue from the segment alone by fiscal 2029.

Management has been aggressive in building the technology stack. Marvell completed three acquisitions — Celestial AI (photonic fabric), XConn Technologies (high-speed switching), and Polariton Technologies (plasmonic silicon photonics) — that together target optical connections at 3.2 terabits per second and beyond. A deepened partnership with Nvidia saw the GPU giant invest $2 billion in Marvell’s networking solutions for NVLink Fusion and AI-RAN platforms.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Marvell Technology?

For the current quarter, Marvell guided to roughly $2.7 billion in revenue, representing 35% growth. Full-year fiscal 2027 revenue is expected to come in around $11.5 billion, a 40% increase, and the fiscal 2028 forecast has been lifted by $1.5 billion to $16.5 billion. To secure manufacturing capacity, the company plans roughly $1 billion in prepayments to semiconductor suppliers this year.

The analyst upgrades were swift and broad. HSBC initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $300 price target, citing “systematically underestimated” optical and CXL-related revenue. Barclays raised its target from $150 to $275 (Overweight), J.P. Morgan boosted its from $135 to $240, Oppenheimer set a new $250 target (Outperform), and KeyBanc lifted its to $260 (Overweight).

The stock traded near €176, just below its 52-week high of €179.02, after more than doubling year to date and gaining over 200% in the past twelve months. Marvell bought back $200 million of its own shares during the quarter and paid $54 million in dividends. The relative strength index stands at 44.4, suggesting neither euphoria nor panic — but the underlying growth story has clearly captured Wall Street’s imagination.