Nvidia Gains As CEO Skips Trump Inauguration Amid AI Chip Uncertainty: Retail Applauds Apolitical Stance

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) stock climbed over 3% in mid-day trading Friday after CEO Jensen Huang announced he would not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.

Instead, he plans to be “on the road” to celebrate the Lunar New Year with his employees and their families. 

"But I'll look forward to congratulating the Trump administration when they take office," Huang stated during a press event in Taipei.

Retail sentiment around Huang’s decision has been largely supportive on Stocktwits, where users praised the CEO for maintaining a neutral stance on political matters. 

The rally was further fueled by an updated price target from Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley, who raised the target to $175 from $160, maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating. 

Barclays cited Nvidia’s leadership in proprietary serializer and deserializer technology as a key advantage in the artificial intelligence space, which it described as a market of "haves and have-nots."

A serializer and deserializer are components used in data transmission systems to convert data between parallel and serial formats. They are critical in enabling high-speed data communication, particularly in the semiconductor industry. 

 

Nvidia Corp. Sentiment and Message Volume on Jan.17 as of 1:00 p.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Nvidia remained in the ‘bullish’ territory as chatter simmered down to ‘normal’ from ‘high’ levels.

One user celebrated the rally citing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s (TSM) recent earnings beat and Nvidia’s quashing rumours around issues with its Blackwell chips.

Another noted that it was “illogical” for the stock to rally ahead of Trump’s inauguration even though there is a lack of clarity around which new executive orders Trump will enact once in office. 

However, Nvidia faces challenges ahead. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden's administration announced export restrictions on AI chips to several countries, excluding close allies like Taiwan. 

The restrictions could significantly affect Nvidia, as China alone accounted for $5.4 billion of the company’s $35 billion quarterly revenue.

However, a recent Stocktwits poll revealed that retail investors aren’t very worried about the long-term impact of these restrictions. 

Only 15% of respondents believe the restrictions pose a significant long-term threat to Nvidia’s market share, while 43% are more concerned about short-term performance disruptions. 

Nvidia has criticized the new regulations, arguing they could undermine U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. 

The company expressed cautious optimism about a policy shift under Trump, with expectations that his administration may favor policies aimed at bolstering U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

The stock has more than doubled in value over the last year. 

Nvidia’s stock has more than doubled in the past year, with the current average analyst price target of $173.08 indicating a potential 25% upside from current levels.

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