Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares rose solidly in premarket trading, outperforming the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), an exchange-traded fund tracking the performance of large-cap non-financial tech stocks, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX).
In premarket trading on Friday, Nvidia rose 1.60% to $433.35, according to Benzinga Pro data. The QQQ edged up 0.09% and the SOXX gained 0.42%.
Nvidia has been on a tear this year, as investors lapped up the stock, sensing huge market opportunity due to the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker’s leverage to the artificial intelligence technology. The company recently crossed the $1 trillion market cap mark.
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On Friday, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore named Nvidia as the firm’s top pick. The analyst maintained an Overweight rating for the stock and increased the price target from $450 to $500.
The positive view on Nvidia assumes more importance, even as rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) recently revealed its AI strategy.
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