Since the beginning of last year, one of the key drivers of the U.S. stock market rally has been AI. However, after the steep rise in AI stock prices, many investors were waiting for more evidence to confirm the sustainability of the AI rally. Fortunately, a series of positive news on Wednesday boosted investors' confidence and reaffirmed the long-term trend of AI.
Against this backdrop, chipmaker $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ soared 11.4% intraday, while memory chipmaker $Micron Technology(MU)$ jumped 7.7%, chip designer $ARM Holdings Ltd(ARM)$ gained 6.6%, semiconductor manufacturer $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ rose 5.4%, and AI and database expert $Oracle(ORCL)$ climbed 2.9%.
Here are some catalysts fueling the AI stock rally:
Evidence of AI's Room for Growth
The latest financial reports from two iconic companies in the AI space indicate that the development of AI applications is far from over.
First, $Microsoft(MSFT)$ , an early proponent of the AI revolution, reported earning that surpassed both revenue and earnings expectations. But it was the management's comments that truly ignited the AI stock rally.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the ongoing AI transformation involves "knowledge- and capital-intensive investments," with virtually all the company's capital expenditures tied to cloud computing and AI. This is undoubtedly a major boost for chip stocks supporting AI technologies.
$Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ results also seemed to echo Nadella's sentiment. The company's second-quarter revenue grew 9% year-over-year to $5.8 billion, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.69, exceeded analysts' expectations.
But more importantly, AMD raised its financial forecast, with AI chip sales expected to reach $4.5 billion this year, up from $4 billion predicted three months ago and $3.5 billion at the end of last year.
Other Catalysts
$Morgan Stanley(MS)$ analyst Joseph Moore reinstated NVIDIA as the firm's "top pick," maintaining a "buy" rating and a $144 price target, which is 39% higher than its Tuesday closing price. The analyst believed that NVIDIA shares are oversold after a 23% decline in recent weeks, calling the current price "a great buying opportunity."
Micron announced that it has achieved mass production of its ninth-generation NAND flash technology. These processors facilitate faster information transfer in data centers, a crucial component of AI processing. Micron noted that these chips offer a 50% faster data transfer speed than any competing products.
Admittedly, the AI investment frenzy over the past year has pushed up valuations for many companies, with dynamic price-to-earnings ratios of 87x for Micron, 84x for ARM, 38x for NVIDIA, 24x for TSMC, and 22x for $Broadcom(AVGO)$ . However, AI is a trend-driven rally, and growth in this sector will span not weeks or months but years. Therefore, these AI stocks deserve a premium valuation given their growth potential.
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