The chipmaker's new self-driving platform will go into production by next year
The shares of Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) moved higher out of the gate today, after the company announced that its new self-driving platform, Drive AutoPilot, will go into production by 2020. The chipmaker said the platform has already been optioned by a pair of German auto suppliers. However, NVDA stock has since reversed lower to trade at $140.17, down 2.2% on the day, possibly in the wake of a warning from Goldman.
The stock has struggled since since touching a record high in early October, and suffered a post-earnings bear gap in mid-November. Nvidia shares subsequently touched near two-year lows of $124.46 on Dec. 26, and suffered their worst quarter since 2002 -- down 52.5%. However, the equity is already up 12.6% since its December lows, but is struggling to overtake its 30-day moving average.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari today predicted another challenging year for semiconductor stocks, though Goldman maintains a "buy" rating on NVDA. In fact, 19 analysts give NVDA a "buy" or better rating, compared to seven "holds" and one "strong sell." The $227.56 current consensus 12-month price target remains optimistic -- representing a roughly 62% premium to current levels.
Options traders have remained bullish on Nvidia stock, too. Currently, the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.72 sits lower than any other ranking in the past year. This suggests that short-term options players have never been more call-heavy in the past 12 months.