Nvidia's Meteoric Rise Brings It Within Striking Distance Of Apple's Market Value: Will Jensen Huang-Led Chip Giant Become World's Second Most Valuable Company?

Nvidia Corp. NVDA is closing in on Apple Inc. AAPL to become the world's second most valuable company by market capitalization, with the gap between the two companies narrowing down to a little over $250 billion.

What Happened: Nvidia's continued run has brought it within striking distance of Apple when it comes to market capitalization. Another surge of a little over 9% could bring it level with the iPhone maker.

The Apple stock has moved at a snail's pace compared to Nvidia – its shares have gained 3.6% in the first five months of 2024. On the other hand, Nvidia's surge has been rapid and sustained – it has made its investors richer by over 127%, more than doubling their wealth in the last five months.

As of market close on Friday, Nvidia's market capitalization stood at $2.69 trillion, while Apple's stood at $2.94 trillion.

At the beginning of 2024, Nvidia's market capitalization was $1.18 trillion while Apple's stood at $2.84 trillion.

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Assuming that Apple's shares remain unchanged, Nvidia's share price would have to touch $1,198 for the Jensen Huang-led company to become the second most valuable company in the world.

Here's how a $1,000 investment in Nvidia and Apple stocks at the beginning of 2024 would have fared:

A $1,000 investment in Nvidia stock would now be worth $2,275, while a similar investment in Apple would be worth $1,036.

See Also: Apple Set To Announce New AI Features At WWDC, But You Might Need At Least This iPhone To Use Them, Says Report

Is Apple Falling Behind?

As far as Apple is concerned, 2024 has been a less-than-stellar year so far for the company in the stock market. It ceded the top position to Microsoft earlier this year, and it could soon drop to the third place if Nvidia maintains its momentum.

Increasing competition in China and the lack of a significant AI strategy for its iPhones and other products has played a role in Apple stock's subdued performance. It has fared worse than the Nasdaq Composite, which has surged by over 13% in 2024 so far.

What Are The Analysts Saying

Coupled with Nvidia going from strength to strength and blowing past analyst expectations with its Q1 results, chances are it could go past Apple.

According to the analysts at Morgan Stanley, Nvidia “shows no sign of slowing down" and that its "growth remains very strong through product transition."

For CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer, though, the question is not whether Nvidia will surpass Apple – he thinks the semiconductor designer can surpass Microsoft, too. "Nvidia's potential is immense, and its products are increasingly becoming integral to the tech infrastructure, making it a company that could redefine the future of technology."

Nvidia's rapid rise might have some people concerned about the valuations being "bubbly," but fund manager Louis Navellier thinks otherwise.

Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann has set a target price of $1,400 for Nvidia stock, pointing at an upside of nearly 28% from the current price.

Besides, Huang doesn't seem to be in any mood to slow down – he thinks "everything else next to it is undesirable," when asked what drives him to do his job as Nvidia's CEO.

However, not everyone is convinced about Nvidia beating Apple – Gene Munster thinks investors are "largely in denial" about the iPhone maker's AI play, ahead of its expected announcements at the upcoming WWDC. He says the Apple stock will outperform Nvidia over the next year.

Price Action: Nvidia's stock closed 0.78% lower at $1,096.33, while Apple's shares rose 0.50% to close at $192.25 on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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Read Next: Apple’s Adoption Of AI For iPhones Will Drive ‘Multi-Year Upgrade Cycle,’ Say Analysts Ahead Of WWDC

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