Nasdaq NVDA Nvidia

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Monday as a growing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas roiled global markets and pushed investors toward safe-haven assets, while crude prices jumped close to 3%.

I last wrote about NVIDIA (NVDA) as the Bull of the Day in early September when it seemed like estimates had surged so much that they couldn’t go any higher.This was two weeks after the company’s August 23 quarterly report and mos

Tech companies operating in Israel are expected to fortify security as they could face disruptions, said investors and analysts, after Hamas gunmen from Gaza killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted an unknown number of others.

Most of 2023 has been defined by the big tech stocks driving bullish sentiment and overcoming 2022’s bear market. That said, since about halfway through the summer, the bull market has been on pause with the prospect of interest rates remaining high for longer than expected, among other macro factors, putting a dampener on proceedings. Still, going by the past week’s performance, there are signs the bulls’ charge is about to resume in earnest. In fact, with Q3 earnings season about to commence, Goldman Sachs’ portfolio strategist Cormac Conners points out that going by past events, the coming period might be a bountiful one, especially for the tech leaders. “History suggests that the upcoming 3Q results may catalyze a momentum reversal in the largest tech stocks,” Conners recently wrote. “Since 4Q16, the mega caps in aggregate have beaten consensus sales growth expectations 81% of the time and have outperformed in two-thirds of earnings seasons, typically by 3pp.” With this in mind, we decided to get the lowdown on two mega-cap tech names the Goldman analysts believe are primed to use the coming earnings season as a catalyst for further gains. Moreover, according to the TipRanks database, both are currently rated as Strong Buys by the analyst consensus. Here are the details. Nvidia Corporation ( NVDA ) We’ll start with Nvidia, a major player in the semiconductor chip industry. The company has found a solid base of support in strong customer demand for its high-end GPU chips, which have become essential to the rapid growth of AI technology. The explosive growth of AI since the end of last year has clearly been good for Nvidia. Since 2020, the company has been an important supplier of GPU chips for OpenAI, whose ChatGPT sparked off the current AI revolution. OpenAI has already indicated that it will need some 10,000 chips heading into next year, just to maintain ChatGPT’s performance capabilities. Nvidia’s exposure to this, and to other facets of AI, has fueled a surge in its top and bottom lines over the past several quarters, and Nvidia has become one of just 5 publicly traded companies valued at more than $1 trillion. A quick look back at Nvidia’s last earnings report will show the magnitude of the company’s recent growth. Nvidia reported a company record of $13.5 billion in quarterly revenue for fiscal 2Q24, its last release. This was up 101% year-over-year, and beat the forecast by over $2.4 billion. The bottom line of $2.70 per adj. share, was 61 cents per share ahead of the estimates – and was up a whopping 429% compared to the prior year quarter. Looking ahead, the Street expects further gains when Nvidia reports its fiscal Q3 results next month. The outlook for revenue is $15.87 billion, and for non-GAAP EPS is $3.35. For Goldman’s Toshiya Hari, the near- to mid-term looks good for the company. Nvidia should benefit, in his view, from continued strong customer demand, fueled by data center and AI applications. The 5-star analyst writes, “Looking ahead, we see the combination of a strong/broadening demand profile in Data Center and an improving supply backdrop supporting sustained revenue growth through CY2024. Importantly, although we recognize emerging competition from the large cloud service providers (i.e. captive/internal solutions) as well as other merchant semiconductor suppliers, we expect Nvidia to maintain its status as the accelerated computing industry standard for the foreseeable future given its competitive moat and the urgency with which customers are developing/deploying increasingly complex AI models.” This stock is off the peak value it hit at the end of August, but it is still up by 219% year-to-date and Hari thinks there are still solid gains ahead to look forward to. He gives NVDA shares a Buy rating, with a $605 price target to imply 32% upside potential for the next 12 months. (To watch Hari’s track record, click here) The tech giants never lack for Wall Street attention, and Nvidia has 39 recent analyst reviews on record – with a lopsided 38 to 1 breakdown favoring Buys over Holds, for a Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares have a trading price of $457.62, and their $647.04 average price target is more bullish than Hari’s, suggesting a 41% gain for the year ahead. (See NVDA stock forecast ) Amazon ( AMZN ) Next up is Amazon, one of the world’s instantly recognizable brand names. Amazon boasts a proven record as a ‘tech survivor,’ having gotten its start in the late ‘90s – and then surviving the dot.com bubble that winnowed the early field of tech companies. Today, Amazon leads the global e-commerce market, and with its $1.3 trillion market cap is another of the 5 largest firms in the public stock markets. This impressive edifice stands on the company’s online retail operations, which last year moved approximately $690 billion in gross merchandise volume. While online retail gets the headlines, Amazon has its hands in multiple pots. The company is constantly developing new products to take advantage of newly opened niches – look at the way Amazon Web Services quickly became a major player in cloud computing. Amazon also has multiple AI-based products under development, with prominent projects including a chatbot, an image building platform, and a software code development tool. The company is also integrating AI into the existing AWS, which in the last reported quarter, 2Q23, generated over $22 billion in revenue. Amazon shares have retreated some ~12% from their September peak although the stock is still up 49% for the year-to-date, an overall gain based on solid performance. We saw those performance metrics in the company’s 2Q23 results. Amazon’s top line came to $134.4 billion, beating the forecast by $3 billion and growing 11% y/y. We’ve already noted the y/y growth in AWS, which helped to power the overall revenue total; the company’s North American retail was also up year-over-year, by 11%, to reach $82.5 billion. Amazon’s Q2 EPS figure of 65 cents was 31 cents better than expected – but that figure benefited from a $200 million gain due to non-operating expenses from the company’s equity holdings in Rivian Automotive, where the comparable figure in the previous year quarter was a $3.9 billion loss. When we look towards Amazon’s upcoming Q3 results, we see that Wall Street is expecting an EPS of 58 cents, supported by revenues of $141.5 billion. 5-star analyst Eric Sheridan covers this stock for Goldman, and in his view, the company’s strong AWS performance will remain in the driver’s seat, while Amazon as a whole does well on the long term: “We remain convinced that AWS remains on track to return to a more normalized growth/margin structure in 2024 and that the segment is well positioned (contrary to current investor perception) against the rising computing shifts towards AI. Looking over a multi-year timeframe, we reiterate our view that Amazon will compound a mix of solid revenue trajectory with expanding margins as they deliver yield/returns on multiple year investment cycles.” Sheridan’s stance supports his Buy rating, and his $180 price target implies a strong 41% upside potential on the one-year horizon. (To watch Sheridan’s track record, click here) Overall, Amazon has picked up 41 recent analyst reviews, and these include 40 Buys against a single Hold to give the stock a Strong Buy consensus rating. AMZN boasts an average price target of $176.02, suggesting an increase of 37.5% from the current $127.96 share price. (See Amazon stock forecast ) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’   Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing world, almost everyone has taken a look at Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) at least once. The stock has been on fire this year and is up around 200%. After this stellar performance, some investors may be speculating if Nvidia will split its sto

After spending much of last year headed in the wrong direction, Wall Street turned the tables in 2023, with many stocks making up lost ground. Each of the major market indexes climbed at least 20% from their respective bottoms, though they have since given back some of those gain

Last week, renowned hedge fund manager Bill Ackman spoke at length about a new position in his portfolio. As it turns out, Silicon Valley investors are not the only ones looking to capitalize on the rising popularity of artificial intelligence (AI).

Major chip stocks have rallied this year due to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Advanced chips are needed for developing and training AI models. While Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ) is seen as the frontrunner in the AI race, other chip companies are working on innovative products that can capture growth opportunities in the AI market. We used TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Tool to place Broadcom ( NASDAQ:AVGO ), Nvidia, and Intel ( NASDAQ:INTC ) against each other to find the best chip stock, as per Wall Street analysts.    Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Broadcom shares have rallied 51% year-to-date, as the company is expected to benefit from the generative AI wave. However, the company’s Q4 FY23 revenue growth guidance of 4% disappointed investors, especially after Nvidia issued a market-crushing outlook.   Moreover, a report by The Information that tech giant Alphabet ( NASDAQ:GOOGL, GOOG ) is thinking about ditching Broadcom as its supplier of AI chips as early as 2027 further impacted investor sentiment. The report also said that Marvell Technology ( NASDAQ:MRVL ) could replace AVGO as one of Google’s AI chip development partners. Despite all this noise, Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Broadcom, as they see it as the next big semiconductor play to immensely gain from AI-induced demand, trailing only Nvidia. The company expects generative AI to account for over 25% of its semiconductor revenue in FY24, up from 10% in FY22. What is the Price Target for AVGO? Last month, Truist Financial analyst William Stein reiterated a Buy rating on AVGO stock and raised the price target to $995 from $942. The analyst noted that while the company’s traditional chip business is stabilizing, its AI revenue is accelerating and supporting a more stable and "growthy" model. Stein thinks there is more room for upside to both Broadcom’s fundamentals and the stock over time, given continued dividend growth, potential M&A benefits, and revenue growth looking possibly higher than the mid-single-digit level. With 16 Buys and two Holds, Broadcom stock earns a Strong Buy consensus rating. At $984.94, the average price target implies 16.5% upside. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Nvidia shares have skyrocketed 213% so far this year, as the semiconductor giant is seeing a spike in demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs) from companies that are aggressively pursuing their generative AI ambitions. The company’s Q2 FY24 revenue jumped 101%, while adjusted EPS surged 429%, mainly driven by a 171% rise in the data center segment’s revenue. The data center segment includes the HGX platform, which is witnessing robust demand from cloud services providers and large consumer internet companies like Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN ), Alphabet, Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:META ), and Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ). Looking ahead, the company expects its Q3 FY24 revenue to increase 170%, as clients are seeking the company’s advanced GPUs to build and run AI applications. Is Nvidia a Good Stock to Buy Now? On October 2, Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari added Nvidia to its Conviction Buy List. Hari views the company as the principal “shovel supplier” in the AI wave. Also, the analyst believes that NVDA will maintain its position as the “accelerated computing industry standard for the foreseeable future given its competitive moat and the urgency with which customers are developing and deploying increasingly complex AI models.” Wall Street’s Strong Buy consensus rating on NVDA stock is based on 38 Buys and one Hold. The average price target of $647.07 implies 41.4% upside. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Intel shares have risen 37% year-to-date, as investors are appreciating the company’s turnaround efforts. After two consecutive quarters of losses, the company returned to profitability in the second quarter despite continued weakness in the top line. Persistent weakness in the PC market has significantly impacted Intel’s revenue. Moreover, cloud companies and several other enterprises are more interested in securing graphics processors for generative AI than Intel’s central processors. Against a tough demand backdrop, the company delivered improved earnings driven by its cost reduction efforts. The company is taking several initiatives to turn around its business. Earlier this week, the company announced its intention to separate its Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) into a standalone business. The PSG unit, which makes programmable chips for defense, telecommunications, and other end markets, will eventually be spun out through an IPO. The move follows the company’s Mobileye ( NASDAQ:MBLY ) spin-off last year.   Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold? While several analysts cheered Intel’s PSG announcement, Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis is skeptical about it and reiterated a Hold rating on the stock on October 4. “If it's about accountability, then it's unclear why PSG was folded into [Data Center and AI Group] when times were good during the pandemic and it's being broken off when the business is turning negative,” said Curtis. Curtis said that he appreciates Intel’s turnaround efforts but remains on the sidelines as he is doubtful about the company's ability to execute on its roadmap. Further, he expects some downside to the Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 estimates. Wall Street’s Hold consensus rating on INTC stock is based on six Buys, 20 Holds, and five Sells. The average price target of $36.53 indicates that the stock could be range-bound at current levels. Conclusion Analysts are bullish on Nvidia and Broadcom, while they are sidelined on Intel. Nvidia has outperformed Broadcom and Intel so far this year and yet Wall Street expects the highest upside in NVDA stock from current levels. The company’s advanced GPUs and innovative technology are expected to drive continued strength in its performance.   Disclosure

What happened Shares of database and cloud company Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) fell 12% in the month of September, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In this mailbag, the Rule Breaker Investing podcast is looking at authors, numbers, percentages, baseball, and so much more! Plus, we review and draw to a close yet another five-stock sampler: Stocks Indistinguishable From Magic.

Markets remain under pressure. This week, investors were spooked by the apparent hiring surge in September. The jobs report showed that over 370,000 jobs were created in September. At midday on Friday, the S&P 500 was close to a critical level of support at around 4,200.  

What happened Shares of SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) fell 20.2% in September 2023, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Many investors lost some confidence in the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom last month. As a small-cap company with deep roots in AI

What happened Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) were moving lower last month after the semiconductor designer known for network solutions and other chips offered underwhelming third-quarter results, and the stock responded to rumors that Google could drop it as a supplier.

In today's video, I discuss recent updates impacting Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), and other semiconductor companies. Check out the short video to learn more, consider subscribing, and click the special offer link below.

In today's video, I discuss recent updates impacting Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Check out the short video to learn more, consider subscribing, and click the special offer link below.

Opportunity in October

International Business Machines Corporation IBM has introduced Threat Detection and Response Services (TDR), a new comprehensive suite of AI-powered technologies designed to augment an organization’s cyber defense capabilities. Le

Nokia Corporation NOK has established a state-of-the-art 6G research hub in Bangalore, India. The initiative is aligned with the Government of India’s ‘Bharat 6G Vision,’ which aims to make the country a prominent contributor to 6

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Wall Street's main indexes reversed course and rose on Friday following a boost from megacap stocks, with investors assessing a fresh jobs report that also pointed to slowing wage growth.