Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target price on Nvidia to $300 from $240, calling for a potential 59% rally in the stock, according to a note shared on Thursday. The firm kept an “overweight” rating on the company, arguing that demand for artificial intelligence chips and systems is far from slowing. Shares reacted immediately, pushing higher as investors digested the new forecast. Analyst C.J. Muse explained that demand for AI tokens has “exploded” over the past 12 to 16 weeks, fueling a sharp increase in infrastructure spending. He wrote: “We are still in the early innings of a multi-trillion AI Infrastructure build-out with just the Hyperscalers providing significant line-of-sight into hundreds of billions of demand for the next handful of years, never mind other drivers such as Neo-Clouds, Enterprise, and Physical AI.” He dismissed the idea of a bubble forming in the space, stressing that growth is still in its early stages. Muse projected that token generation could lift the value of AI infrastructure to between $3 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030. Cantor highlights OpenAI partnership and chip demand Muse also pointed to Nvidia’s new arrangement with OpenAI as another reason for confidence. Under the deal, Nvidia will commit as much as $100 billion to support OpenAI in building and running systems powered by its chips. These systems are expected to require around 10 gigawatts of energy to operate. Muse described the setup as a way for OpenAI to act like its own hyperscaler, with Nvidia gaining an investment option in return. The company’s stock is already up 41% in 2025, making it one of the most closely watched names in the AI sector. The broader equity market saw weakness at the same time. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3%, even after both indexes touched record intraday highs earlier in the session. At their peaks, the S&P was up 0.2% and the Nasdaq 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 303 points, or 0.7%, with blue-chip names lagging. Nvidia helped cushion the Dow’s decline after climbing more than 2% in the prior session. That move followed comments from CEO Jensen Huang, who told CNBC that computing demand has “gone up substantially” in 2025. Wall Street watches rotation and shutdown risks David Wagner, head of equities at Aptus Capital Advisors, said investors remain cautious even as indexes grind higher. “Obviously the market has had a relentless surge from the April meltdowns that keep showing signs that some people believe that the stock market is overheated, making calls for some type of breather at a time when the classic dip buying strategy continues to remain firmly in place,” he said. “This market just continues to grind up. It’s just some under-the-hood rotation going on that can cause some intraday volatility or effect.” Technology names were mixed during the session. Oracle joined Nvidia in climbing to fresh highs, although both companies had faced pressure earlier in the week. Reports suggested Oracle’s cloud operations were struggling with slimmer margins as it absorbed costs tied to renting out Nvidia chips. Wagner added, “The market is trying to dissect or decipher which partnerships are going to see the best return on invested capital, and you’re seeing a rotation amongst some of those players that seem to have that circularity theme.” While investors tracked chipmakers and software names, politics remained in the background. The U.S. government shutdown entered its ninth day Thursday, with the Senate unable to pass funding measures after seven failed attempts. Republicans and Democrats remain stuck in negotiations. Traders are watching closely to see if the deadlock will slow the economy, and some say the impact may already be underway. Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free .
