Nvidia may be able to weather a semiconductor slowdown induced by tariff uncertainty, according to Redburn Atlantic. The firm, which has a buy rating on the artificial intelligence chip darling, named Nvidia as a top pick for when turmoil moderates in the space. Its price target of $178 reflects nearly 61% upside from Monday’s close. “We expect corporate narratives on end markets to strike a cautious tone, pointing to macro uncertainty and potential demand softening,” analyst Timm Schulze-Melander wrote in a Tuesday note. “We assess that leading-edge AI and chipmaking investment will prove to be more resilient.” Shares have come under pressure over the past couple months, seeing a fall of more than 20% in that timeframe, amid increasing concern among investors over President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. NVDA mountain 2025-02-15 NVDA, 2-month While the Trump administration on Friday exempted semiconductors — along with smartphones, computers and other tech devices and components — from his “reciprocal” tariffs, the president and top trade officials later revealed that the exemptions would be partially or completely reversed in the near future. Schulze-Melander said that a slowdown in AI innovation would threaten its positive outlook on Nvidia more than a decline in the U.S. economy, as that would hurt the recovery in global PC and handset sales – which collectively account for 35% of global semiconductor sales. “This could undermine accelerated compute investment plans, which would be an incremental negative for DRAM, GPU, CPU and networking chip suppliers,” the analyst also wrote. “This would have implications along the entire length of the semiconductor supply chain, not just at Nvidia.” “We expect strategically important data centre modernization to be among the last areas to be cut – providing resilience compared with the broader cycle,” the analyst added. Most of Wall Street is bullish on the chipmaker to date. Specifically, 57 out of 63 analysts have a strong buy or buy rating on the name, per LSEG. Only six have stepped to the sidelines with a neutral stance. Nvidia also has an average target of roughly $169, which implies more than 53% upside from here.
