Nvidia Analysts See Stock 'Best Positioned In AI,' Not Worried About Guidance: 'All Systems Go For Blackwell Ramp'

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA analysts highlight the company's strong beat in the third quarter and guidance in the fourth quarter that may leave investors less confident in the short term.

The NVDA Analysts: Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse reiterated an Overweight rating on Nvidia with a $175 price target.

JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur reiterated an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $155 to $170.

Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $175 price target.

Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari reiterated a Buy rating and raised the price target from $150 to $165.

Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar reiterated an Overweight rating with a $175 price target.

Needham analyst Quinn Bolton reiterated a Buy rating and raised the price target from $145 to $160.

Benchmark analyst Cody Acree reiterated a Buy rating and raised the price target from $170 to $190.

Cantor on NVDA: Fourth-quarter guidance coming in lower than estimates and gross margin guidance spooked investors in after-hours trading Muse said in a new investor note.

Muse said there was good and great news from Nvidia in the earnings report and conference call.

"The Blackwell cycle is tracking better than the original ~$3B guide for the January Q and is expected to accelerate much more meaningfully throughout CY25 and beyond with shortages anticipated over the next several Q's amidst ‘staggering demand,'" Muse said.

The analyst said they expect first-quarter revenues to "accelerate more meaningfully," which supports the bull case for $5.50 in earnings per share in calendar year 2025 and the potential for $6 per share.

Nvidia's update at CES, February's expected guidance and the March GTC conference are items the analyst is watching going forward. Nvidia is called a top pick by the analyst.

JPM on NVDA: Third-quarter results were solid and the company's guidance shows strong AI demand, Sur said in a new investor note.

"Blackwell production ramp progressing well and demand outstripping supply through majority of CY25," Sur said.

The analyst said demand for Blackwell is "very strong" and highlighted management's commentary on expectations for Hopper shipments to remain strong into 2025 as well.

"Bottom line, the team continues to maintain a 1-2 step lead ahead of competitors with its silicon/hardware/software platforms, and a strong ecosystem and the team is further distancing itself."

Oppenheimer on NVDA: Third-quarter financial results and guidance were roughly inline with buyside expectations, led by Data Center strength, Schafer said in a new investor note.

"NVDA remains best positioned in AI, benefitting from full-stack AI hardware/software," Schafer said.

The analyst said Nvidia is "the purest scale play" for "AI proliferation."

"We see several structural tailwinds driving sustained outsized top-line growth in high-performance gaming, datacenter/AI and autonomous driving vehicles."

Goldman Sachs on NVDA: The ramp in Blackwell and yield improvements are likely to drive earnings per share growth, Hari said in a new investor note.

The analyst said Nvidia's guidance "only met Street expectations" and comments on gross margin headwinds, but the outlook remains strong for the stock.

"We expect growing demand for AI infrastructure across all customer groups," Hari said.

The analyst also expects improving supply and gross margin normalization to help drive earnings per share growth.

Piper Sandler on NVDA: Nvidia beating third-quarter analyst estimates kept up with recent trends, Kumar said in a new investor note.

The analyst said Nvidia is setting up for strong growth starting in April.

"The key here is that NVDA is going through a product transition with Blackwell ramping and H200 remaining strong," Kumar said.

Nvidia's guidance beats could be higher starting in April, Kumar added.

"All systems go for Blackwell ramp."

Needham on NVDA: The Blackwell ramp is ahead of previous estimates, Bolton said in a new investor note.

The analyst said guidance was below some of the loftier estimates from analysts with third-quarter results well ahead of Needham estimates.

"Management not only silenced the Blackwell overheating rumors, but raised its F4Q Blackwell revenue guide," Bolton said.

The analyst highlighted Nvidia mentioning Blackwell production was full steam ahead while naming customers such as Dell, Oracle, Microsoft, Alphabet and CoreWeave.

"Demand is ‘greatly exceeding supply,' and Blackwell sales for the January quarter are currently on track to exceed previous guidance of several billions of dollars."

Benchmark on NVDA: Third-quarter results had plenty of strength, but the lack of a huge guidance raise left shareholders wanting more and taking profits, Acree said.

"Nothing except the most aggressive beat and raise was likely to keep the market from fairly aggressive profit-taking, which is exactly what happened," Acree said.

The analyst said investors may be getting wary about the longevity of "the AI trade" with Nvidia shares up over 200% year-to-date ahead of earnings.

"The company's performance and outlook appear to be suffering from a "law of large numbers."

Despite Nvidia shares being up over 700% since early 2023 compared to the S&P 500 up 57% over the same time period, the analyst sees long-term value.

"NVDA's shares still represent a compelling value for thoughtful investors willing to look past the near-term noise."

NVDA Price Action: Nvidia stock is down 1.46% to $143.76 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $45.01 to $152.89. Nvidia stock is up 200% year-to-date in 2024.

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