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Time to Buy Chip Stocks as Nvidia's Earnings Approach?

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Monday put an end to the broader slide among tech stocks as the Nasdaq rose +1.56% with the index virtually flat in today’s trading session.

The rebound was led by Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) which hit a new 52-week high of $481.87 a share before cooling off. Nvidia’s stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) ahead of its second-quarter results after market hours on Wednesday.

Shares of NVDA were down -3% today, mostly from profit-taking ahead of the report. However, the pullback and correction among chip stocks over the last few weeks could be a buying opportunity for Nvidia and others.

Nvidia Q2 Preview

After surpassing Q1 top and bottom-line expectations in May, Nvidia’s stock ripped higher as the chip giant excited investors with news of higher demand for its AI chips. Going into its Q2 report NVDA is up a superb +221% this year to easily top the broader indexes and the Semiconductor-General Market’s +127%.

While it may be hard for some investors to phantom that Nvidia’s stellar stock performance can continue, Q2 estimates indicate it could.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Supporting high market sentiment for Nvidia, Q2 earnings are expected to skyrocket 304% to $2.06 per share compared to $0.51 a share in the prior-year quarter. Second-quarter sales are forecasted to soar 64% to $11.04 billion versus $6.70 billion a year ago.

More intriguing, the Zacks Expected Surprise Prediction (ESP) indicates Nvidia could beat earnings expectations with the Most Accurate Estimate having Q2 EPS at $2.11 per share and 2% above the Zacks Consensus. 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Earnings Outlook

With market sentiment so high for artificial intelligence, favorable results and potential guidance for Nvidia’s H100 chip could help NVDA shares climb even higher. Nvidia’s A100 chip is already at the center of the AI infrastructure conversation, and the H100 along with its Grace CPU Superchip is expected to catapult AI capabilities.

This is also expected to keep Nvdia ahead of competitors like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) . AMD's MI300X chip is thought to be Nvidia's closest competition but the company remains firmly ahead in regard to AI prospects.  

Wall Street expects the earnings potential from AI to be immense, with Nvidia’s annual EPS now projected at $7.84 compared to $3.34 a share in 2022. Plus, fiscal 2024 earnings are forecasted to climb another 40% to $11.01 per share.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Watch

Strong quarterly results from Nvidia could boost optimism for tech, especially for other chip stocks. This was apparent after Nvidia’s most recent Q1 results with Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) and On Semiconductor (ON - Free Report) being two names to watch.

Applied Materials and ON Semiconductor’s stock sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with earnings estimate revisions on the rise. Both provide a broad range of components for use in semiconductors with Applied Materials stock rising +53% this year and ON Semiconductor stock up +49%. 

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