Nvidia Co-Founder and CEO Jensen Huang saw the company add more than $1 trillion in value over the second quarter. Nvidia shares edged lower in early Monday trading, following a trillion-dollar market-value gain during its second quarter peak, as a top Wall Street analyst issued a bullish second-half outlook for the market-leading AI-chip maker.
Nvidia launched its new Blackwell system of AI-powering processors this spring. The group continues to hold a commanding share of the market for the chips and systems needed to build out the massive data systems that so-called hyperscalers will use to further their new technology ambitions.
Blackwell products are more expensive than their H100 and H200 predecessors but provide more power and are more energy-efficient. Their introduction, however, had raised concerns about an air pocket in sales, as customers canceled orders of legacy chips and waited for the new line of processors.
For the three months ended in April, data-center sales, which include the group’s key AI offerings, surged more than fivefold to a record $22.6 billion while gross profit margin expanded to 78.9%.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore boosted his Nvidia price target by $28 to $144 a share on Monday while affirming an overweight rating.
He said checks from his team following visits to China and Taiwan suggest that sales of both products will remain strong.
The catalyst path remains strong, as the very strong surge in H20 builds and demand removes any concern for us about a pre-Blackwell pause, Moore and his team wrote.
Nvidia shares were last marked 1% lower in early Monday trading to change hands at $121.86 each.