Core Viewpoint - Qualcomm's stock has experienced a significant surge, increasing over 15% to $195, with a year-to-date rally of nearly 25% due to its strategic push into the data center market and the announcement of new AI chips [1][3]. Group 1: Stock Performance - Qualcomm's stock has surged over 15% to $195, marking one of its strongest single-day performances this year [1]. - Year-to-date, Qualcomm's stock has rallied nearly 25% [1]. Group 2: Strategic Developments - The stock rally follows Qualcomm's announcement of a major push into the data center space, unveiling two new AI chips, AI200 and AI250, designed for memory-intensive AI applications [3][4]. - The AI200 is expected to be released in 2026, while the AI250 will follow in 2027, indicating a long-term strategy to compete with dominant players like Nvidia [4]. - Qualcomm is shifting its focus from mobile devices to capitalize on the growing demand for AI hardware, supported by a $2.4 billion acquisition of Alphawave in June [5]. Group 3: Product Offerings - Alongside the chip announcement, Qualcomm released accelerator cards and server racks, completing its data center hardware portfolio [6]. - The new AI chips utilize Hexagon neural processing units (NPUs) from Qualcomm's smartphone chips, allowing for seamless integration with AI accelerators in data centers [6]. Group 4: Market Sentiment and Analyst Projections - Analysts project that Qualcomm's stock may face a short-term correction in the next 12 months, with a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating from 17 analysts [7]. - The average price target for Qualcomm's stock is $184.29, with a high forecast of $225 and a low of $140, indicating a slight downside of about 2% from the current price level [8]. - Concerns have been raised by Bank of America regarding limited customer disclosure and revenue projections for the new chips, which are viewed as lower-end models [9].