Nvidia vs. TSMC: Wall Street pros name their favorite stock as chip battle heats up

Published Mon, Feb 20 20237:53 PM EST

It has been quite a start to the year for both Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company . Both stocks have rallied in 2023, with shares of Nvidia soaring nearly 50% so far this year — an outperformance that's impressive even amid a broader market rally. TSMC's performance has been more muted in comparison, but it has still gained 14% this year. But the sentiment surrounding companies is decidedly different. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has dumped most of its stake in TSMC, just months after buying the Taiwanese chipmaker's stock. The sale, disclosed in fourth-quarter 13F filings last week, comprised roughly 86% of Berkshire's stake in TSMC. Meanwhile, investor interest in Nvidia has surged as it becomes seen as a way to play the growing hype around artificial intelligence. Despite the Berkshire sale, analysts still love TSMC. Around 90% of analysts covering the stock have a "buy" rating on it, and give it average upside of 19.5%, according to FactSet data. In contrast, Nvidia is rated "buy" by around 64% of analysts covering the stock. They give it average downside of 3.2%, which means analysts think the share price is actually set to fall slightly. Nvidia Tim Seymour, founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management, believes Nvidia is the "clear pick" amid the hype around companies in the artificial intelligence space. The company is the "AI buy" in terms of its software and hardware capabilities, he said Thursday on CNBC's "Fast Money." But Nvidia is more than just a play on AI, according to fund manager Jeremy Gleeson. "Nvidia has a line-up of products that touch upon a lot of the exciting aspects of the technology sector right now, including gaming and graphics, datacenters, AI, machine learning, as well as automotive. They are seen as a beneficiary of innovations such as ChatGPT," Gleeson, who manages the £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) tech fund AXA Framlington Global Technology Fund, told CNBC Pro. TSMC TSMC, meanwhile, is sometimes seen as a barometer of the strength of the U.S. consumer, with Apple among its biggest customers. But Gleeson said TSMC is more than just a proxy for the Cupertino-based tech giant. In addition to Apple, TSMC also manufactures chips for Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices , Qualcomm , Broadcom and Mediatek , among others. "So, I wouldn't necessarily link the fortunes of with company with just one end market or customer, but yes, they do have exposure to [the consumer recovery given its exposure to Apple," Gleeson said. TSMC is still one of the most popular stocks held by global funds, according to Bank of America . Of the 610 funds analyzed by the bank, 363 had overweight positions in TSMC relative to the market. Both? If investors can't choose between the chip stocks, Wedbush Senior Analyst Dan Ives is a fan of both. "Nvidia is the best way to play the AI opportunity on the chip front. This is a Game of Thrones battle and AI is here to stay with Nvidia a great play on that front. TSMC is a global chip recovery play that is well positioned with Nvidia in the left lane of innovation," he told CNBC Pro. "TSMC is the short-term play with Nvidia more of the longer-term AI bet." — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to reporting