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Nvidia stock surged 5% on Monday and was edging close to record highs as investors awaited CEO Jensen Huang's keynote speech. at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Shares of Nvidia hit an intra-day high of $152.16, just shy of its record high of $152.89.
Huang is scheduled to kick off CES with an opening speech on Monday at 6:30 p.m. PST in Las Vegas.
Bank of America noted that Nvidia stock tends to surge around Jensen Huang's CES remarks.
The stock jumped 6.4% on the day of Huang's CES speech in 2024, which was followed by an extended surge in the two days following his speech.
"It was a monstrous Monday, with NVDA being the most notable move," Bank of America said in a recent note. "NVDA had been extremely range bound for the 4-5 months heading into it, and the buyside was obsessed with the inevitable cloud capex cliff."
The bank alluded to the fact that Nvidia is facing a similar setup heading into this year's trade show as investors continue to worry about the possibility of an end to the AI capex boom. Meanwhile, Nvidia stock has traded in a sideways range for about six months.
For Huang's upcoming CES speech, Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya said the integration of AI into robotics could be a big topic of discussion.
"We look for updates on Robotics strategy from silicon to software and emergence of 'physical AI' theme," Arya said, adding that he expects Nvidia to make "a strong push" into robotics.
Other areas Arya is watching include Nvidia's launch of new PC gaming cards that will be variants of its next-generation AI chip architecture, Blackwell, and the potential for Nvidia to enter the PC market via an AI PC that would likely be made via a partnership but could also be a standalone Nvidia product.
Arya is also looking for an update on Nvidia's data center business, specifically surrounding the ongoing ramp of Nvidia's Blackwell chips and upgraded variants expected to launch in the second half of the year, including the GB300 and B300.
Finally, Arya said he expects a teaser from Nvidia on its Rubin AI GPU, which is scheduled to succeed the Blackwell chip in 2026.
"While the big themes have already been mentioned in the media ahead of the event, we still see CES as a positive catalyst, re-asserting NVDA's platform dominance/opportunity in high-growth markets," Arya said.
Analysts at Citi also have Nvidia stock on "positive catalyst watch" during this week's CES event.
Arya rates Nvidia at "Buy" and calls it a "top pick" with a $190 price target, representing upside of 26% from current levels.
