Five Analysts Downgrade Nvidia, Cut Targets at Three Firms

Five analysts downgraded Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) on Thursday, and Evercore ISI Group cut its price target to $186 from $465 in the largest reduction among the actions.

Oppenheimer moved the stock to perform from outperform before the open. Evercore ISI Group cut it to in-line from outperform, Bernstein to market perform from outperform, Keybanc to sector weight from overweight, and William Blair to market perform from outperform. All of these moves came before the open. Cantor Fitzgerald kept its overweight rating.

Bernstein cut its target to $200 from $400, and Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $250 from $350. No price target was attached to the Oppenheimer, Keybanc or William Blair changes.

Nvidia closed at $173.73 on Wednesday, Nov. 11, after falling 21.5% over the 20 sessions to that close. Baird had downgraded the stock to neutral and cut its target to $200 on Wednesday, as our earlier report described.

Where coverage stood

Before Thursday, 35 firms had rated Nvidia in the past year. Of those, 33 rated it positive, two neutral and none negative. Their median target was $315, with targets ranging from $200 to $515. The new Evercore ISI Group target of $186 and Bernstein's $200 both sit below that median.

Scale of the business

In its last fiscal year, which ended Jan. 25, Nvidia reported revenue of $215.94 billion, up 65%, and net income of $120.07 billion. In the quarter ended July 26, revenue was $96.22 billion, up 106% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share were $2.46, compared with $1.08. The company reported cash and equivalents of $22.44 billion as of that quarter-end.