Jai Hamid
Nvidia’s NVDA stock smashed through another barrier on Thursday, hitting a record high at market open. Shares jumped 4%, briefly touching $152.89 per share, pushing Nvidia’s valuation past $3.7 trillion.
This made Nvidia $250 billion richer than Apple ($AAPL), solidifying its place as the most valuable public company. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Within eight minutes, Nvidia erased $175 billion in market cap, dipping to $144.34 per share—a 5.6% nosedive. Traders are now asking: is this the new normal?
Thursday morning’s market activity revolved around Nvidia. Pre-market jitters saw shares down 3% following its third-quarter earnings report. The company beat Wall Street’s top-and-bottom line expectations but issued cautious guidance, slowing the celebratory mood.
Stock futures mirrored Nvidia’s early losses, but everything turned around by 8:15 AM ET. Nvidia clawed back into the green, climbing 1.7% by 8:43 AM ET. At the same time, futures on major indices bounced back, up 0.5% after opening in the red.
Wall Street’s big calls and bigger bets
Goldman Sachs says it isn’t pulling punches on Nvidia. The firm doubled down on its “Buy” rating, raising its price target from $150 to $165. Goldman highlighted Nvidia’s robust pipeline of catalysts, putting it on its coveted Americas Conviction List.
Barclays echoed the sentiment, pointing out that Nvidia remains the strongest player in artificial intelligence (AI). “The data points and sentiment remain noticeably positive intra-quarter,” analysts wrote.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analysts applauded Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell GPU launch in January. They believe the new chips will drive unprecedented demand well into 2025.
“The stock will churn near-term as investors digest the modest guidance, but Blackwell’s ramp will be a long-term driver,” said Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley.
Other firms are equally bullish. Citi upped its price target to $175, banking on Nvidia’s dominance in AI chip sales and robotics applications. Wells Fargo raised its target even higher, predicting $185 per share, with strong confidence in Blackwell shipments hitting “several billion dollars” next year.
Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon backed this optimism, adding that supply constraints could persist into 2026, keeping Nvidia’s prices elevated. Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis noted that Nvidia’s recent results weren’t expected to “blow out” the numbers but called the upcoming quarters critical as Blackwell gains traction.
JPMorgan added fuel to the fire, projecting gross margins to reach the mid-70% range by late 2025 as Nvidia cuts costs and ramps up production.
Bitcoin breaks $98,000 in unstoppable bid for $100,000
Meanwhile, as all this happens, Bitcoin isn’t sitting quietly. The flagship cryptocurrency surged past $98,000 for the first time on Thursday, climbing 3.5% during the session. The rally came amid growing optimism surrounding pro-crypto policies expected from the incoming Trump administration.
Investors are betting big on a regulatory environment that favors crypto, and Bitcoin’s latest record reflects this confidence. The 50-day moving average has crossed above the 200-day moving average, forming a “golden cross.” This pattern is traditionally viewed as a bullish signal, indicating potential for continued upward movement.
Most analysts believe we could possibly see $100k before the month’s even over. But while the current bullish trend is supported by positive sentiment and technical indicators, the overbought RSI suggests the possibility of a short-term correction.
Bank of America had earlier flagged Nvidia’s earnings as the “most important catalyst left for the year.” Nvidia’s performance outshined even major economic indicators like jobs data, inflation reports, and Federal Reserve updates.
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