Nvidia’s stock is nearing a new all-time high, with shares rising 3.2% to $139.02 in early trading, while the Nasdaq Composite increased by 1%. The previous record closing price for Nvidia was $135.58 on June 18, following a stock split. If this upward trend continues, Nvidia could potentially overtake Apple as the world’s most valuable company. Currently, Nvidia’s market valuation is $3.31 trillion, compared to Apple’s $3.46 trillion. 

The demand for AI and advanced semiconductors has driven Nvidia’s stock up by 172% this year, significantly outpacing the approximately 22% gains seen in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices. For the second quarter ending in June, Nvidia reported sales of $30 billion, marking a remarkable 122% year-over-year increase. Despite some skepticism about the AI hype, analysts remain largely positive, with about 93% rating the stock as a Buy according to FactSet data.   

In a recent interview on the BG2Pod podcast, CEO Jensen Huang expressed confidence in continued growth, stating that the entire computing technology stack is being reinvented. He highlighted a shift in global investment from traditional CPUs to GPUs optimized for parallel computations essential for AI workloads. Huang believes this transformation, involving roughly one-sixth ($150 billion) of the market, will evolve into a trillion-dollar industry within five years. 

Supporting this optimistic outlook, Melius analyst Ben Reitzes maintains a Buy rating on Nvidia, considering his target price of $165 conservative. He cites Nvidia’s strong infrastructure, from major cloud providers to smaller entities, and its rapid monetization capabilities, which consistently impress investors, especially when compared to industry giants like Apple or Meta Platforms.