Markets are hoping Nvidia's big AI event this week will be a badly needed positive catalyst for the stock

• Investors will have their eyes on Nvidia’s big GTC conference this week.
• The big AI event could give a badly needed boost to Nvidia stock after a 20% sell-off.
• Wall Street is looking for updates on the rollout of the next-gen Blackwell GPU and other endeavors.

Nvidia’s big artificial intelligence event this week could provide some much-needed fuel for the chipmaker’s stock.

The Jensen Huang-led firm kicked off its annual GPU Technology Conference on Monday, its annual AI chips conference.

The hotly anticipated event, which takes place in San Jose, will include a keynote speech from Huang on Tuesday, during which investors are expecting key updates on the firm’s chip sales and the company’s other projects.

For Wall Street, the hope is that the event brings a fresh catalyst for Nvidia shares, which have been beaten down in recent months after soaring in 2024. Shares were trading around $119 on Monday, down 20% from their high of $149.42 on January 6.

Louis Navellier, the chief investment officer of Navellier & Associates, told Business Insider he would be disappointed if Nvidia shares didn’t jump at least 5% by the end of the week.

He’s expecting Nvidia to give major updates during the conference on its advancements in quantum computing, a big “next step” as the firm looks to speed up its AI processing.

“I expect that the Nvidia AI Developers Conference will just reaffirm NVDA’s dominance on regenerative AI,” Naveillier said to BI in an email. “On the last day of the conference, quantum computing will be the focus and Nvidia is expected to announce business with one of the winners of its recent quantum computing development contest.”

Bank of America is also feeling positive ahead of the GTC conference. Analysts lifted their price target for Nvidia stock to $200, up from $190 a share.

The bank said it expects key updates on Blackwell, as well as updates on Nvidia’s robotics and quantum computing projects. Investors will be particularly focused on updates related to the outlook for GM, given the carmaker’s partnership with Nvidia. Also in focus is demand for Nvidia’s chips in China, competition with alternative chipmakers, and the company’s expected growth for the 2026 year, analysts said.

The BofA team said they reiterate their “buy” rating for the stock and see shares rally even as volatility related to China creates near-term headwinds.

Melius Research also reiterated its “buy” rating ahead of the GTC conference.

At the event, Nvidia is expected to show how major cloud companies and enterprise businesses are adopting its tech. The company could also potentially unveil its Blackwell Ultra, the firm said.

The conference will likely bolster confidence that Nvidia can grow 10% quarter-over-quarter, Ben Reitzes, the head of technology research at Melius, said.

“Nvidia’s forward PE is now 41% lower than it was on the day ChatGPT was launched on Nov. 30th, 2022. Of course, in FY25 its net income was up 788% vs. FY23 (ended 1/23) and revenues are up 384% since then too. Just doesn’t feel right, does it?” Reitzes said in a note last week, noting that Apple stock experienced a similar trajectory in 2008 before the stock rebounded.

“If Nvidia duplicates its own version of this industry stewardship, we could look back at this period of uncertainty and have a good chuckle,” he added.

Stacy Rasgon, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said he is bullish on the stock heading into the GTC conference. He’s expecting the company to give key updates on Blackwell, as well as Rubin, the chip following Blackwell in Nvidia’s product cycle.

Updates on Blackwell could be particularly impactful, Rasgon suggested, adding that he believed the chip could represent the “biggest product cycle” in the history of the company.

Over the last 10 years, when investors bought Nvidia at similar valuation levels, gains have always been positive over the next 12-month period, he added.

“I really like it at these valuations,” Rasgon told CNBC last week.

Investors have been anxious about the strength of the AI trade in recent months since DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, appeared to create an AI model to to rival US peers despite claiming to use older and cheaper GPUs to train it.

Mega-cap tech shares have also been hit the hardest by the recent bout of tariff-induced volatility that sent the S&P 500 into correction last week.