Nvidia shares rose 12% thanks to earnings and the potential of artificial intelligence

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in his usual leather jacket.

GT

Nvidia shares opened more than 12% Thursday morning, a day after the chip maker reported a win on top and bottom line. Analysts are also optimistic about the company’s vision for artificial intelligence.

Nvidia reported revenue of $6.05 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter and adjusted earnings per share at $0.88, beating the Wall Street consensus. It expects sales of $6.5 billion for the next quarter.

Analysts responded positively to both Nvidia’s results and the growth in its data center business, with a slew of Repeat or Improve ratings emerging after the report. This vertical is home to most of Nvidia’s sales of AI GPUs and grew 11% year-over-year.

More than a dozen analysts raised their price targets or gave the stock a positive rating.

“AI adoption is at an inflection point,” CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday’s call with analysts. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has captured attention around the world, allowing people to experience AI first-hand, and showing what’s possible with AI. obstetric.” earlier this year, Huang called An “iPhone moment” turned into a fireside conversation at UC Berkeley.

Nvidia’s AI play is “accelerating in a way that will have disruptive ramifications” for both its competitors and “the world at large,” Hans Mossmann of Rosenblatt Securities said in a note Wednesday.

Nvidia’s report the same day Intel cut its dividend by two-thirds highlights “a multi-generational shift like we’ve not seen before,” Moosman continued, reiterating the buy rating and setting a $320 price target.

Credit Suisse’s Chris Case offered a similarly optimistic note, calling Nvidia a “hard not to own” stock and keeping as a top pick in the sector. Case wrote that this valuation was driven by “a combination of stolen game estimates combined with what we believe is the semi-final’s strongest growth potential from AI/data center.” The case raised Nvidia’s price target from $210 to $275.

And in a change of face, Goldman Sachs’ Toshiya Hari upgraded Nvidia to a Buy rating and set a $275 price target. “In hindsight, we acknowledge that our decision to remain on the sidelines in anticipation of a decline in the company’s fundamentals was a mistake,” Harry wrote in a note Wednesday morning, citing “disciplined expense management” and the acceleration of AI adoption.

CNBC’s Michael Blum, Jordan Novette, and Kev LeSwing contributed to this report.