Altimeter Capital Chair and CEO Brad Gerstner revealed a new position in Nvidia , betting on its role in artificial intelligence. “We’ve long admired Nvidia, its leader Jensen and the central role that they play in AI,” Gerstner said Thursday on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “Over the course of the last two years we’ve seen a massive acceleration, evidenced by OpenAI and the work that Microsoft is doing, what Google is doing, etc.” The tech investor said he initiated the Nvidia position in December and added to it in January. The chip stock sold off 50% in 2022 as rising rates hit growth tech names particularly hard. The stock is up 48% year to date. NVDA 1Y mountain Nvidia Gerstner said the brutal sell-off last year presented a good buying opportunity. “The market frankly gave us an opportunity to get into the name in a meaningful way,” Gerstner said. “Multiples for all growth stocks compressed because of these concerns about macro, where would rates stop? Where would inflation stop? So that opened the door.” He added that there were also two idiosyncratic concerns related to Nvidia, which were the revenues derived from crypto and gaming. The concerns turned out to be overblown, Gerstner said. “Multiples are expanding off their all time lows because of what’ve seen in terms of inflation rolling over and the Fed. And the concerns about crypto and gaming are largely behind us,” Gerstner said. The Nasdaq Composite has rallied more than 16% this year as investors flocked into beaten-down technology names, betting that the worst of the tightening cycle is over.
