Nvidia stock (NVDA) is aiming for a new record close as investors continue to bet on the artificial intelligence boom.
The stock rose just over $1 to $134.15 Thursday. It previously hit a record closing price of $135.58 in June.
Nvidia has been on a torrid winning streak, notching its fifth consecutive day of gains Tuesday before Wednesday's slightly down session. Shares are up 9% from last week.
The stock’s climb has been fueled by a barrage of good news for the AI chipmaker. Wall Street analysts this week have reiterated their Buy ratings on Nvidia shares. KeyBanc released a report estimating that Nvidia revenues from its new Blackwell chips alone will reach $7 billion in the fourth quarter, while demand for its older GPUs “remains extremely robust.” A potential new wave of funding for AI startups would add to Nvidia’s coffers as well, Wedbush analysts said Tuesday.
Nvidia also showcased the strength of its software offerings during its AI Summit in D.C. The same day, Nvidia and Foxconn announced plans to build Taiwan’s largest supercomputer during Foxconn’s annual technology showcase event in Taipei. Foxconn also provided details about a mega-factory it’s building to assemble Nvidia servers using its Grace Blackwell chips in Mexico, reducing Nvidia’s reliance on China amid heightened trade tensions.
Nvidia’s weeklong ascent has more than reversed earlier declines following the release of the company’s second-quarter earnings. Shares sank in late August after Nvidia failed to beat analyst expectations as much as investors had hoped. They fell further on a Bloomberg report that the company was subpoenaed by the US Department of Justice in early September, which Nvidia denied. Fears of disruptions to demand from China, due to rising trade tensions with the US, had also driven shares down. Nvidia’s recent volatility has been amplified by its 10-for-1 stock split in June.
Other positive news in the semiconductor sector Wednesday could help Nvidia stock achieve a new record close. TSMC (TSM), one of Nvidia's chip manufacturers, reported sales above Wall Street's expectations — another indication that AI demand will stay strong in the near term.
“AI is hot,” Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights and Strategy, told Yahoo Finance, adding, “I see continued growth in the AI data center trades for the next 12 months.”
The chip sector's gains signal that Big Tech’s massive spending on AI hardware is far from finished despite fears on Wall Street of a slowdown.
Semiconductor industry sales rose 28% in August from the prior year and 15% from July, according to the most recent WSTS data reviewed by JPMorgan (JPM). Young Liu, the chair of Nvidia’s server manufacturer Foxconn (2354.TW), told Bloomberg Television in an interview Tuesday that the company is boosting capacity to meet “crazy” demand for Nvidia AI chips, or GPUs (graphics processing units). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said last week in a CNBC interview that demand for Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips has been “insane.”
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.
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