5 big analyst AI moves: Nvidia gets new Street-high PT; OpenAI launches new model

Here are the biggest analyst moves in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) for this week.

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Loop Capital starts Nvidia coverage with a Street-high target price

Loop Capital started research coverage of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock with a Buy rating and a $1,200 price target, which represents a new Street high.

“Initiating Buy and $1200 PT (63% appreciation) as we believe not only is there material upside to Street estimates in CY2024/FY2025 & CY2025/FY2026 but that we are at the front end of a 3 - 5 year GPU compute & Gen AI foundational build across Hyperscale,” the broker said in a note.

Despite the rise of new silicon providers and internal solutions from major players and Hyperscalers, Loop expects NVDA to continue attracting robust demand from its largest customers in 2024 and 2025.

The firm’s analysis projects an uptick toward 50-60% GPU compute usage among Hyperscalers, up from the current 10%, driven by generative AI's demands. This aligns with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's predictions on the pivotal role of GPU computing for advanced AI applications.

Apple is ‘underappreciated AI beneficiary’ - Evercore ISI

Earlier in the week, Evercore ISI analysts maintained an Outperform rating and a $220 price target on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), viewing it as “an underappreciated AI beneficiary that stands to significantly benefit from integrating LLMs into their core technology.”

According to Evercore, this integration is poised to help the iPhone maker expand its ecosystem with added functions, enable on-device running of substantial LLMs for AI-focused apps, and potentially shorten iPhone replacement cycles as consumers seek the newest LLM-enhanced models.

“We think AAPL is best-positioned to bring AI inference to the edge via the iPhone, and if executed correctly, could drive shorter replacement cycles, additional pricing opportunities and a stronger moat around the business.”

OpenAI’s new text-to-video AI model is ‘breakthrough technology’ - Macquarie

This week, OpenAI, owned in part by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), unveiled Sora, a new AI model designed to create short videos using text prompts.

Despite the release including just a handful of video demonstrations, analysts at Macquarie have labeled it as a "new breakthrough technology."

The analysts said the launch of Sora exemplifies OpenAI’s commitment to innovation and shows that the ChatGPT maker continues to push the boundaries of technology, often setting new industry benchmarks with its new launches.

“We think both the length of coherent video generation, and the model's understanding of how entities exist and move in the physical world are both key breakthroughs with this technology release,” they wrote.

Applied Materials PT raised at BofA

Bank of America analysts hiked their price target on Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) from $185 to $222 per share.

This move comes alongside Bank of America's raised projections for the materials engineering solutions provider, driven by continued AI growth and an uptick in demand for DRAM from China.

“After 2 years of flattish sales due to semi industry inventory digestion, we see growth inflecting back to double digit YoY from FY25,” BofA strategists wrote.

“Meanwhile, the company’s solid 29% TTM FCF margins are enabling 20-25% annual dividend growth and consistent 150-200bps annual reduction in share-count.”

KeyBanc bullish on Arista Networks amid enterprise growth

KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts reaffirmed an Overweight rating on Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) with a price target of $306, following a robust fourth quarter in 2023 fueled by enterprise growth and ongoing expansion in Cloud Titan.

This positive momentum is anticipated to accelerate in the first quarter of 2024 “due to timing of shipments.”

“Enterprise upticked in 4Q23 and is now close to 40% of revenue by our math as Arista continues to execute on share gains and new product offerings, addressing a $30B enterprise segment including campus and routing,” KeyBanc wrote in a note.

“Increased spending by Cloud Titans, continued share gains in Enterprise, and new AI-related Ethernet opportunities provide us comfort with our CY24/CY25 forecasts, supporting our OW rating on ANET shares.”