Analysts praise Nvidia's results, call A.I. opportunities the next big growth vector for the chipmaker

Published Thu, Feb 23 20236:12 AM ESTUpdated Thu, Feb 23 20238:09 AM EST

Strong overall results from Nvidia and more artificial intelligence developments outweigh the chip stock's gaming center miss in its recent quarterly print, analysts say. The chipmaker on Wednesday posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results after the bell, driven by growth in its data center business that includes AI chips. CEO Jensen Huang added during a call with analysts that AI is at an "inflection point," leading businesses to purchase its chips for machine learning software. The company's shares rose more than 8% in premarket trading Thursday on the heels of those results. "NVDA's unique, turn-key model of chips, systems, software coupled with emerging inflection in generative AI/large language models positions NVDA solidly for large/profitable growth," wrote Bank of America's Vivek Arya in a Wednesday note to clients. Arya also hiked his Nvidia price target to $275 per share from $255, implying upside of roughly 33%. Nvidia's results and outlook should also help alleviate some concerns investors had heading into the print, especially after the stock's recent run-up, said Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon. "Given the run the stock has had we believe many were nervous into the print, but the results seem to bolster the set-up from here which seems good at this point," he wrote, adding that developments in AI should enable long-term investors to "dream the dream." Nvidia shares are up 42% year to date. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA in 2023 Jefferies' Mark Lipacis noted that he views the company as one of the biggest beneficiaries from more enterprise AI spending going forward. For many analysts, including JPMorgan's Harlan Sur, Nvidia's results and guidance also seemed to confirm that a "gaming inventory correction is behind and the team is well-positioned for sustained growth acceleration." And, while the company's gaming business is unlikely to rebound to its Covid pandemic heights, it looks "largely derisked" going forward, wrote Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore. He added that this segment could become a steady 10% growth business for the chipmaker. "We continue to believe NVDA's long-term prospects are some of the best in the semiconductor industry given the proliferation of generative AI models," wrote Piper Sandler's Harsh Kumar on Wednesday. Kumar increased the firm's price target to $275 from $225 a share due in part to the company's AI opportunities, which represents about 33% upside from Wednesday's close. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.