Nvidia Stock Rises. The Chip Sector Finally Got Some Good News.

Some of Nvidia's partners were sending positive signals about AI chip demand. Taiwan's Foxconn -- also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry -- said Thursday that it expects its AI-server shipments to grow sequentially and account for more than 50% of total server revenue in 2025. Foxconn recently said it was building the world's largest manufacturing site for servers to house Nvidia's GB200 Superchips in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Dutch chip-manufacturing equipment maker ASML Holding maintained its 2030 sales and margin targets in an update Thursday. That was a relief for the semiconductor sector more generally after ASML shocked the market when it lowered its 2025 outlook last month, citing a slow recovery in some areas of the chip market. ASML said it expects AI will contribute to pushing global semiconductor sales to more than $1 trillion by the end of the decade.

Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer increased his target price on Nvidia shares to $175 from $150 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock. He said he expects Nvidia's data-center revenue -- which includes its AI chip sales -- to nearly double for the third quarter from the same period a year earlier. The company reports earnings on Nov. 20.

"We see upside to F3Q (Oct) results and F4Q (Jan) outlook led by sustained CSP [cloud service provider] /enterprise demand for AI accelerators. We're raising estimates," Schafer wrote in a research note.