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Loop Capital initiated coverage of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock with a Buy rating and a $1,200 price target, marking a new Street high.
In a research note, the broker stated, “We are initiating a Buy rating and $1200 PT (63% appreciation) as we believe there is significant upside to Street estimates in CY2024/FY2025 & CY2025/FY2026. We are also at the forefront of a 3 – 5 year GPU compute & Gen AI foundational build across Hyperscale.”
Despite the emergence of new silicon providers and internal solutions from major players and Hyperscalers, Loop Capital anticipates that NVDA will maintain strong demand from its primary customers in 2024 and 2025.
The firm’s analysis forecasts a rise in GPU compute usage among Hyperscalers to 50-60%, up from the current 10%, driven by the demands of generative AI. This aligns with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s vision of the crucial role of GPU computing in advanced AI applications.
Earlier this week, Evercore ISI analysts reiterated an Outperform rating and a $220 price target on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), identifying it as “an underappreciated AI beneficiary poised to gain significantly from integrating LLMs into their core technology.”
According to Evercore, this integration is expected to help Apple expand its ecosystem with additional functionalities, facilitate on-device operation of substantial LLMs for AI-centric applications, and potentially shorten iPhone replacement cycles as consumers seek the latest LLM-enhanced models.
“We believe AAPL is well-positioned to bring AI inference to the edge through the iPhone, and if executed effectively, could drive shorter replacement cycles, create more pricing opportunities, and strengthen the business’s competitive advantage.”
OpenAI, partially owned by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), introduced Sora, a new AI model designed for generating short videos based on text prompts.
Although the release included only a few video demonstrations, Macquarie analysts have described it as a “significant breakthrough technology.”
The analysts noted that the launch of Sora demonstrates OpenAI’s dedication to innovation and showcases the organization’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology, often setting new industry standards with its innovations.
“We believe both the length of coherent video generation and the model’s comprehension of how entities exist and move in the physical world are key advancements in this technological release,” they commented.
Bank of America analysts raised their price target on Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) from \(185 to \)222 per share.
This adjustment coincides with Bank of America’s increased forecasts for the materials engineering solutions provider, driven by sustained AI growth and a surge in DRAM demand from China.
“After two years of stagnant sales due to semiconductor industry inventory adjustments, we anticipate growth returning to double-digit year-over-year from FY25,” stated BofA strategists.
“Additionally, the company’s robust 29% trailing twelve months free cash flow margins are supporting 20-25% annual dividend growth and a consistent 150-200 basis points annual decrease in share count.”
KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts reiterated an Overweight rating on Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) with a price target of $306, following a strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2023 driven by enterprise expansion and continuous growth in Cloud Titan.
This positive momentum is expected to accelerate in the first quarter of 2024 “due to shipment timing.”
“Enterprise sales saw an uptick in 4Q23 and now contribute nearly 40% of revenue by our calculations as Arista continues to capture market share and introduce new product offerings, targeting a $30 billion enterprise segment encompassing campus and routing,” KeyBanc stated.
“Increased investments by Cloud Titans, ongoing market share gains in Enterprise, and new AI-related Ethernet opportunities reinforce our confidence in our CY24/CY25 forecasts, supporting our Overweight rating on ANET shares.”
