Banking giant predicts almost 30% drop for this AI darling

Group 1 - BofA Securities has resumed coverage on Super Micro Computer (SMCI) with an 'Underperform' rating and a price target of $35, indicating a potential downside of approximately 28.5% from current levels [1] - SMCI stock closed at $49.11 on July 8, reflecting a 4.25% gain from the previous session, but experienced a 1.34% decline in premarket trading [2] - Despite BofA's bearish outlook, the broader Wall Street sentiment is more optimistic, with a "Moderate Buy" consensus based on 13 analysts' price targets, including 6 Buy ratings, 6 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating [3] Group 2 - The average 12-month price target for SMCI is $41.42, suggesting a potential downside of 15%, with forecasts varying from a high of $70.00 to a low of $24.00 [5] - Super Micro is projected to achieve strong revenue growth, with sales expected to increase nearly 48% to $22 billion in FY'25 and continue growing by 35% to approximately $30 billion in FY'26 due to robust data center spending [6] - The company's close ties to Nvidia's GPU ecosystem position it favorably to benefit from the upcoming Blackwell GPU ramp, although margin pressures from costly liquid-cooling systems and heightened competition may impact profitability in the near term [7]