SMIC's stock price surged 5.05% during intraday trading on Friday, marking a significant upward movement.

The sharp gain follows the company's optimistic operational outlook and strong second-quarter guidance. Management cited robust AI-related demand, particularly for power management integrated circuits where capacity is fully sold out, alongside order backflow from consumer and IoT clients. New applications in areas like time-of-flight sensors, electric vehicles, and robotics, combined with domestic supply chain localization efforts and selective price adjustments, underpin the positive forecast. The company guided for a 14% to 16% sequential increase in Q2 revenue.

This fundamental strength prompted a wave of analyst actions. Citi upgraded SMIC to Buy with a HK$90 target price, while Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating with a HK$135 target, highlighting five growth drivers including AI demand. Morgan Stanley also raised its price target. Furthermore, SMIC announced a strategic move to acquire a 49% stake in SMIC Northern Integrated Circuit Manufacturing for approximately 40.6 billion yuan via a share placement. Positive momentum in the broader semiconductor sector also contributed to the bullish sentiment.