Buy Nvidia because its new gaming chips will launch soon: Analyst

Tyrone Siu | Reuters

Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang attends an event during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan May 30, 2017.

Nvidia shares will thrive as the company releases its next generation gaming graphics chips later this year, according to one Wall Street firm.

Raymond James reiterated its outperform rating for Nvidia shares, predicting the company will generate better than expected financial results in its October quarter.

“We conducted mid-quarter checks on NVIDIA with channel partners, and feel very comfortable with our 2H18 estimates for both Gaming and Datacenter following those checks,” analyst Chris Caso said in a note to clients Wednesday. “We have increased conviction that the October quarter will benefit from a new gaming product cycle, which we expect to be a catalyst and potential source of upside.”

Caso has a $300 price target for Nvidia shares, representing 24 percent upside to Tuesday’s close.

The analyst is optimistic over the market demand for the company’s next line of chips. He estimates Nvidia’s gaming segment sales will rise by 10 percent quarter over quarter in the October quarter.

“Given our increased conviction in a October quarter product launch, pent-up demand following recent shortages, and the nearly two years since NVIDIA’s last consumer launch, we think our October Gaming revenue estimate is likely to be conservative,” he said. “When that new product does launch, we think it can be a significant catalyst … we think there’s significant pent up demand from NVIDIA’s core gaming market that’s likely to be captured once new product is released.”

Nvidia’s stock is up 25 percent so far this year through Tuesday versus the S&P 500’s 2 percent gain. Its shares are up 1.2 percent in early trading Wednesday.