Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares saw a slight increase on Monday as the AI leader commenced trading after a 10-for-1 stock split, accompanied by a flurry of price-target adjustments from Wall Street analysts.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which briefly surpassed Apple as the world’s second-largest company by market value last week, commenced trading on a split-adjusted basis on the Nasdaq, with an opening bell price of $120.38 per share.
The stock split was announced by Nvidia last month following a stellar fiscal-first-quarter earnings report, which included better-than-expected sales and a promising demand outlook for its new line of Blackwell processors. These processors are anticipated to power various AI-related systems developed by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Common-share holders received nine new shares for each original holding as part of the split, intending to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors.
The split prompted a series of price-target adjustments by Wall Street analysts and fueled speculation that Nvidia could be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average now that its price level is more aligned with other stocks in the 30-strong benchmark.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore, who downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) to equal weight from overweight, lowered his target for Nvidia to a split-adjusted $116 per share. He anticipates Nvidia reducing chip and processor prices to defend its market share against competitors.
Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland raised his Nvidia price target to a split-adjusted $145 per share, noting that concerns about a sales gap between Blackwell system launches have been alleviated by ongoing demand for its legacy H100 Hopper chips.
Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis also increased his price target for Nvidia to a split-adjusted $145 per share, citing potential sales growth opportunities from sovereign AI demand, which involves nation-states building data centers for large language model training.
Nvidia shares traded 0.65% higher in early Monday trading, reaching $121.62 each.
Speculation has grown about Nvidia’s potential inclusion in the Dow industrials given its broader market significance and status as the world’s third-largest company by market value. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is considered a potential candidate for replacement, given its declining market value over the past five years compared to the benchmark’s gain.
S&P Dow Jones Indices has a history of replacing big-name stocks, such as AT&T (NYSE:T) for Apple in 2015, following Apple’s 7-for-1 stock split.
Featured Image: Megapixl