The stock of Nvidia Corp. finished at a new high for the third time in a row on Tuesday, putting it on course for a record-setting eighth week of gains. As the broader market fell, Nvidia NVDA, +1.03 percent shares hit a record intraday high of $833.68 early in the trading session, and closed up 1% at $824.94, topping Friday’s then-record close of $819.48 before the long Independence Day holiday. On Thursday, the stock hit an all-time high of $808.48.
According to FactSet statistics, Nvidia shares have also completed a streak of seven straight weekly advances, something the stock hasn’t done since June 2017. Nvidia’s winning streaks have always been limited to seven weeks: According to FactSet, the stock has never posted eight consecutive weeks of increases, despite the fact that it has done so several times in the past. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processing units, which power cutting-edge videogames, but the company’s technology has recently grown increasingly influential in powering artificial intelligence and machine learning activities at the data center scale. In a Tuesday report, KeyBanc Capital Markets boosted its price objective on Nvidia stock to $950, citing signs that “gaming demand is robust and has not been inflated by crypto-mining demand with the launch of CMPs and healthy data center strengths.” Also see: The cryptocurrency rush is just the cherry on top of a fantastic year for Nvidia. CMPs (cryptocurrency mining processors) are special chips launched by Nvidia earlier this year to deter cryptocurrency miners from purchasing graphics cards intended for gamers. While Nvidia debuted a new generation of gaming cards late last year, many gamers were unable to obtain them due to significant shortages, which could have been worsened by crypto miners chasing record prices in coins such as bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.18% and ethereum ETHUSD, +4.25 percent.
CMPs accounted for $155 million in quarterly sales in May, according to Nvidia, and were expected to climb to $400 million in the July-ending quarter. Nvidia shares have risen 110 percent in the last year, compared to a 62 percent increase for the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX, -0.24 percent, a 37 percent gain for the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.20 percent, and a 41 percent gain for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.17 percent.
According to FactSet, 34 analysts covering Nvidia have buy ratings, five have hold ratings, and two have sell ratings, with an average target price of $742.62./n
