Is Astera Labs (ALAB) the Best High Return Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now?

Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) is one of the 8 High Return Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now.

On May 19, 2026, Evercore ISI raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $297 from $215 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Following a new round of Q1 AI channel checks, the firm said key themes included a shift from AI training-driven workloads toward inference-driven workloads by the end of 2026. Evercore added that the transition is increasing focus on cost-per-token, return on investment, and total cost of ownership, which is driving greater hyperscaler interest in internally developed ASICs and alternative accelerators.

Needham also raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $260 from $220 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said the company delivered another significant beat-and-raise quarter, supported by growth across its Scorpio, Aries, and Taurus product families. Needham also noted that Astera Labs expects its optical portfolio to begin ramping in FY27, leveraging technology obtained through the aiXscale acquisition.

Is Astera Labs (ALAB) the Best High Return Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now?

Close-up of Silicon Die are being Extracted from Semiconductor Wafer and Attached to Substrate by Pick and Place Machine. Computer Chip Manufacturing at Fab. Semiconductor Packaging Process.

Earlier in the month, Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) reported Q1 EPS of 61c, versus the consensus estimate of 54c. Revenue totaled $308.36M, versus the consensus estimate of $292.32M. CEO Jitendra Mohan said revenue increased 14% sequentially and 93% year over year to a record $308.4M, driven by strong demand for the company’s PCIe 6 portfolio. Mohan added that adoption of Astera Labs’ Intelligent Connectivity Platform continues expanding through the launch and initial shipments of its Scorpio X-Series 320-lane AI scale-up fabric switch, new customer engagements for custom and optical solutions, and growing market share across its PCIe switch and Smart Cable Module portfolio. Management said the company continues investing to strengthen its position in rack-scale AI infrastructure technologies.

Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) develops semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure markets.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of ALAB as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ALAB and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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