Crypto could just make or break Nvidia.
The chipmaker’s stock fell more than 2 percent Friday despite an earnings beat posted Thursday.
The drop was in part thanks to a statement by CEO Jensen Huang on the company’s earnings call that despite making almost $300 million from crypto-related sales, he expects the number to be cut by about two-thirds next quarter.
And while the chipmaker did hit an all-time high ahead of its earnings report, Miller Tabak equity strategist Matt Maley said that from a technical standpoint, Nvidia needs to hold a key level if it wants to recover.
“If Nvidia can hold above the $250 level into early next week, it should be quite positive for the stock,” Maley wrote in an email to CNBC’s “Trading Nation” producers on Friday. “That old resistance level has now become support, so if it can bounce strongly off that level — either now or after a few days of consolidation — it will be good for the stock.”
Maley also noted the stock’s incredible run. Shares of Nvidia are up more than 100 percent over the last year and more than 1,100 percent since 2015. Despite the meteoric rise, he added, “it’s been trending sideways, … and just this week after an 11 percent rally it’s slightly above that range.”
The top end of that range happened to be at around $250, and with Friday’s drop, Maley continues to watch that level closely.
Mark Tepper, president of Strategic Wealth Partners, is cautious on Nvidia. While he mentioned on “Trading Nation” on Thursday that he saw great potential in the gaming space, he said Nvidia’s dependence on cryptocurrency mining puts it at risk.
And following Huang’s statements on the earnings call, Tepper believes this is still a point of concern.
“[The two] biggest risks to this stock [are] crypto and AI,” he wrote to CNBC. “For crypto miners, Nvidia is the first choice. If they’re struggling, NVIDIA’s going to feel it.”
“And on the AI front, they’ve recently experienced a suspension of test drives for all of their driverless vehicles,” he added.
Nvidia was trading at around $259 Friday morning, still above the $250 level Maley pointed to.
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