Nvidia (NVDA +2.60%) stock may have soared by about 170% in 2024, but shares of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor maker haven't done much in the most recent three months.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
But one Wall Street analyst thinks investors should take advantage of that lull. Oppenheimer's Rick Schafer just made the company one of his top picks for 2025 in the semiconductor sector. His firm's price target of $175 per share would represent a 27% gain from recent levels.
A $4 trillion company
That price would put Nvidia into elite territory, with a market cap of about $4.25 trillion. But that would make sense, according to Schafer. That's because he believes revenue just from Nvidia's data center segment will reach $172 billion in 2025. That would be an increase of about 50% compared to calendar year 2024.
In his recent note to investors shared by Barron's, Schafer wrote: "Nvidia is the largest volume producer of AI accelerators and the cost/bit leader in AI training. NVDA dominates the AI infrastructure market with their full-stack hardware/software."
It's notable that Schafer mentioned software, too. Most investors consider Nvidia's dominance from its Hopper and Blackwell GPU (graphics processing unit) chips. But it also has software architecture meant for AI computer factories.
Software solutions like those included in its DGX platform for enterprise AI and its CUDA platform for developers are used along with its GPU accelerators. Sales of those products will also be boosted as tech companies and others increase capital expenditure for data centers and the AI architecture built into them.
While competition is coming along, demand for its latest Blackwell architecture appears to be very strong. And with its next-generation Rubin coming in 2026, there looks to be a long runway for growth. The recent lull in Nvidia stock does look to be a good opportunity to buy shares before they go even higher.
