AI Money Moves Put These Five Stocks In Spotlight Last Week: NVDA, INTC, ORCL, AMD, SNDK

Tech companies are raising money, increasing production, and changing their plans as AI spending stays strong, while investors watch costs and how well companies deliver on their promises.

• Nvidia launched a $500 billion AI infrastructure financing initiative with six major financial institutions. 
• Intel upsized its stock offering to $20 billion to fund its 14A manufacturing ramp. 
• SanDisk shares jumped nearly 33% last week after its investor day outlined strong growth through fiscal 2030. 

Last week delivered another burst of AI-driven activity across technology markets, with chipmakers expanding capacity, companies raising billions to fund infrastructure and memory firms reshaping their strategies. Nvidia broadened Wall Street’s role in financing AI infrastructure, while Intel, AMD and SanDisk braced for rising demand.  

Nvidia Expands Wall Street’s Role In AI Financing 

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) took steps last week to change how AI projects are funded, announcing a $500 billion initiative with six major financial firms to support computing infrastructure. The plan aims to bring more investors into AI beyond big cloud companies and build confidence ahead of Nvidia’s August 26 earnings report. 

The chip giant reportedly cut its financial support for OpenAI’s Ohio data center project to about $120 billion to reduce its financial risk while keeping the project moving. A filing on Aug. 14 also showed Nvidia had holdings linked to SpaceX/xAI and Intel worth about $21 billion and $30 billion, respectively.  Nvidia stock has gained 3.5% during the week. 

Intel Taps Strong Demand To Fund 14A Expansion 

Intel ramped up its semiconductor turnaround, expanding a planned stock offering from $15 billion to $20 billion after institutional demand topped $100 billion. The proceeds will support its next-generation 14A manufacturing ramp. 

Intel’s turnaround has gained momentum under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, with the company benefiting from strong investor confidence and new foundry customers including Apple and SpaceX. Intel Foundry also reduced its first-quarter operating loss to $2.4 billion, supported by improved manufacturing yields across its Intel 4, Intel 3 and 18A processes. Intel stock recorded 5% weekly gain. 

Oracle’s And AMD’s AI Ambitions 

Oracle faced growing scrutiny over the cost and physical demands of its AI expansion last week. The company expanded its AWS database footprint to 22 regions and reaffirmed Project Jupiter’s schedule, but concerns over a New Mexico gas pipeline delay, potential layoffs and $167 billion in debt pushed shares lower. 

AMD strengthened its challenge to Nvidia last week with a record $4.75 billion bond sale, providing funding for large-scale AI infrastructure commitments. The chipmaker also highlighted more than 6 gigawatts of Helios rack commitments involving major customers, expanded its long-term server opportunity to $220 billion, and pointed to improving software competitiveness as AI demand remains strong. 

While Oracle stock slipped 0.3%, AMD stock climbed 9.5% during the week.

SanDisk’s AI Storage Roadmap Fuels Powerful Stock Rally 

SanDisk stock surged nearly 33% last week after its investor day unveiled an ambitious growth outlook through fiscal 2030. The company expects mid-to-high-teens revenue growth and elevated margins, supported by BiCS10 QLC and High Bandwidth Flash technology aimed at AI workloads. It also pledged to return excess cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.

RBC raised SanDisk’s price target to $1,600, while Wells Fargo also lifted its price target to $1,550. Both firms retained neutral ratings, citing stronger long-term growth and margin targets, confidence in the company’s New Business Model pricing, and a favorable outlook for sustained value creation across the NAND industry.

So far this year, SNDK, NVDA, INTC and AMD stocks have gained between 20% and 591%,  while ORCL stock has cratered 22%. 

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