BING-JHEN HONG
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was in focus on Monday as Morgan Stanley raised its earnings estimates and price target on the semiconductor giant, citing “robust” data checks.
Shares fell fractionally in premarket trading.
Recent checks from Taiwan and China were more than enough to keep the firm confident on near-term numbers and the catalyst path remains “strong,” analyst Joseph Moore wrote, citing the “very strong surge” in H20 builds.
“The data points that we talked about in our two Asia notes, as well as our US checks, remain robust,” Moore wrote. “That said, it is clear that we are at the tail end of the Hopper cycle, and the frothiness and visibility is lower than it was – and given the enthusiasm that we are hearing for Blackwell, lower than it will be.”
Moore raised his price target on $144 from $116 and kept his Overweight rating.
Demand for Hopper products (H100 and H200) is still “robust,” with the transition from H100 to H200 (for better memory) taking place. Nonetheless, sales of both products are likely to remain strong, with strong demand for H20 builds out of Taiwan and strong H20 demand out of China, Moore added, citing conversations with Chinese hyperscalers.
As such, Moore now believes that Nvidia will earn $3.34 per share on a GAAP basis and $3.53 per share on an adjusted basis, up from $2.91 and $3.10, respectively.