Astera Labs Suffers Biggest Drop Since April On Intel--Nvidia Partnership Fears

Sep 23 - Shares of Astera Labs ALAB dropped sharply on Wednesday, sliding nearly 10% and putting about $4 billion of its market value at risk. The decline marked the company's steepest intraday fall since early April, with losses reaching almost 13% at one point.

Astera, which designs semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure, has seen strong gains this year but faces new uncertainty. The pullback followed several consecutive sessions of declines beginning September 19, when Morgan Stanley noted that Intel INTC and Nvidia NVDA struck a deal to co-develop PC and data center chips. The bank suggested the collaboration could carry significant implications for Astera, though it did not outline specific risks.

Despite Wednesday's setback, Astera remains one of the year's standout performers. As of September 23, its shares had gained about 55% year-to-date, surged roughly 178% in the past six months, and climbed close to 300% over the past twelve months.

Investors are weighing whether the IntelNvidia alliance will reshape the competitive landscape or simply create near-term volatility for Astera's fast-rising stock.