Nvidia is due to report its fiscal third-quarter results next Wednesday and analysts are growing increasingly confident in the artificial intelligence chip behemoth's prospects. At least five research firms raised their price targets on Nvidia stock on Thursday.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect Nvidia's sales to rise 82% year over year to $33.06 billion in the third quarter. They see earnings increasing 88% to 75 cents a share.
But Nvidia's Q4 guidance will be critical, since it will include the first quarter of sales of the company's next-generation AI processor, called Blackwell. Wall Street is currently modeling earnings of 82 cents a share, up 58% year over year, on sales of $36.94 billion, up 67%, for Nvidia's fiscal fourth quarter.
Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Christopher Rolland reiterated his positive rating on Nvidia stock and raised his price target to 180 from 160.
On the stock market today, Nvidia stock rose a fraction to close at 146.76.
Rolland said his industry checks indicated sustained demand for Nvidia's current-generation Hopper series products, H100 and H200, ahead of the Blackwell series launch.
Robust capital equipment spending plans by hyperscale cloud service providers such as Amazon and Meta Platforms are driving AI data center processor demand, Rolland said.
Nvidia Stock Is A Recent Breakout
One lingering concern is whether Nvidia can get enough supply from its contract manufacturer, TSMC, and system assemblers Foxconn and Quanta.
"We expect another strong quarter driven by healthy Hopper demand and early Blackwell ramps," Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri said in a client note. "Supply remains a wild card, which could limit near-term upside."
Pajjuri kept his strong buy rating on Nvidia stock and increased his price target to 170 from 140.
On Oct. 17, Nvidia stock hit a buy point of 140.76 out of a 17-week consolidation pattern, according to IBD MarketSurge charts. Since then, it has lingered mostly in the 5% buy zone, which extends to 147.80, based on IBD trading principles.
Nvidia stock is on four IBD lists: Leaderboard, SwingTrader, IBD 50 and Tech Leaders.
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