By George Glover
Wolfspeed stock was surging on Wednesday after Citrini Research -- best known for its viral blog posts about AI wrecking the economy and the Strait of Hormuz -- recommended the power-chip maker.
Shares jumped 23% to $65.95 ahead of the opening bell. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were 0.2% higher as President Donald Trump headed to China with executives including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Citrini analysts published a memo on semiconductors on Tuesday, highlighting Wolfspeed as a stock that can benefit from the AI boom.
The company makes power semiconductors, which control the voltages that flow into a device's specific components. The chips play a role in fulfilling the soaring energy demands of AI data centers.
Wolfspeed exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, and shares have surged since the financial restructuring.
The stock, which trades under the ticker WOLF, was up 209% for the year through Tuesday's close. Fellow power-chip makers Navitas Semiconductor and Vicor have also racked up triple-digit gains.
Citrini in February published a post laying out a scenario where AI ravages the economy by 2028, sparking a brutal selloff in large-cap stocks including DoorDash, American Express, and Visa.
The research firm said in April that it had sent a research analyst to the Strait of Hormuz on a " field trip" to gather maritime data. The analyst said in the report that he had traveled to the waterway in a speedboat carrying $15,000 in cash, Cuban cigars, and Zyn nicotine pouches.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
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May 13, 2026 07:28 ET (11:28 GMT)
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