All the big Nvidia calls after AI conference: Goldman raises target to $1,000, JPMorgan sees 'dominance'

Published Tue, Mar 19 20247:09 AM EDTUpdated Tue, Mar 19 20247:48 AM EDT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at the company's blockbuster GTC Conference is giving Wall Street analysts more reason to stay bullish on the chipmaking behemoth. The company rolled out its highly anticipated new generation of artificial intelligence chips dubbed Blackwell on Monday, with the first iteration known as GB200 poised to ship in 2024. The Blackwell processors, slated to be much larger and faster than the previous Hopper models, offers stronger processing power for companies training AI models. NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia shares year to date Huang also highlighted software plans as the company looks to expand its AI ecosystem. One new product known as the Nvidia Inference Microservice aims to help companies using older graphics processing units for inference, which refers to the process of running large language models. "In the keynote, he laid out a vision of an AI-powered future, with generative AI the building block of a new industrial revolution," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore. "With those grand ambitions in mind, the company presented a compelling set of new hardware, software, and systems to go one step further enabling that future." The event from Nvidia comes as enthusiasm for the AI darling shows no signs of easing, with the stock already up about 79% this year and 244% from a year ago. Shares slipped less than 1% before the bell. Here are some of the takeaways from the biggest Wall Street shops following the event. Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs' Toshiya Hari joined a handful of analysts turning more bullish on the chipmaker following the keynote event, boosting the firm's price target to $1,000 from $875. The new target represents 13% upside. Underpinning Hari's price hike is a "renewed appreciation" for the company's innovative capacity and range of customer relationships. He also highlighted Nvidia's "compelling position" as a "key enabler" in AI growth. Nvidia's latest announcements could prove a major boon for the AI darling, but Hari does anticipate some potential headwinds for competitors. "While our expectation is for spending on traditional servers to recover, albeit modestly, in 2H24/2025, we envision the ongoing shift in data center spend away from general-purpose to accelerated computing continuing to weigh on Intel's fundamentals relative to Nvidia." The fast pace of innovation at Nvidia also means that Advanced Micro Devices may need to aggressively amp up its pace to "keep up." Blackwell's heightened memory needs could also bode well for the dynamic random access memory market and companies such as Micron Technology , he added. Wells Fargo Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers said Nvidia didn't shock investors with any unexpected updates, but he still raised his price target to $970 from $840. "While NVDA once again highlighted its full stack / platform differentiation, we think some may have anticipated a bit more out of the Blackwell B200 launch," he wrote. The event reaffirmed the firm's "long-standing positive thesis" in the company's offering and future monetization opportunities. Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore called the keynote "impressive," viewing Nvidia's Blackwell architecture as a sign of the company's ongoing dominance on the AI front. "While there were no big surprises, the performance of the Blackwell family will raise the bar yet again, with aggressive claims on the rack scale product," he wrote. "The company also continues to push forward in services, omniverse, and robotics." The performance claims for the Blackwell may take time for Wall Street to evaluate, but leaves them in a "very strong position" should they prove successful, Moore said. JPMorgan The Blackwell architecture not only solidifies the company's dominance, but also indicates that Nvidia "remains 1-2 steps ahead of its competitors," according to JPMorgan's Harlan Sur. The company's software and ecosystem expansion also helps fast track AI adopts while creating "high barriers to entry." "With leading silicon (GPU/DPU/CPU), hardware/software platforms, and a strong ecosystem, NVIDIA is well positioned to continue to benefit from major secular trends in AI, high-performance computing, gaming, and autonomous vehicles, in our view," he wrote. Sur retained his overweight rating and $850 price target. Bank of America Huang's keynote address offered a lot of "sizzle and substance," according to Bank of America's Vivek Arya. "One big step for training, one giant leap for inference," he wrote. "With Blackwell, NVDA should not only cement its lead in [large language model] training, but also significantly step forward in AI inference." The analyst retained his $1,100 price target and buy rating, citing the company's ongoing leadership within the AI value chain. Bernstein The hottest pop music star may want to keep her eyes open after Nvidia's event, according to Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon. "Move over Taylor Swift, you're not the only one that can sell out a stadium as Jensen presented his GTC keynote to a packed crowd at the SAP Center in San Jose," he wrote in a Tuesday note. Even after the stock's blowout run, shares continue to offer upside. The analyst retained his outperform rating and $1,000 price target, calling the company's ongoing expansion beyond chips "unmatched."