Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Hits Record High — Is It A Buy Before Earnings May 20?

TLDR

• NVDA closed up 2% at $219.44 on May 11, its third record close of 2026 and fourth straight day of gains.
• The stock has risen 13% over four days, adding roughly $550 billion in market cap.
• Nvidia’s year-to-date gain of 15% trails rivals Intel and AMD, which have both doubled in 2026.
• Earnings on May 20 are the next big catalyst; Wall Street expects Q1 revenue of $78.6 billion, up 78% year-over-year.
• Analyst Ben Reitzes has the street-high price target of $380 and says NVDA trades at a ~50% discount to AMD.

Nvidia stock closed at $219.44 on Monday, May 11 — up 2% on the day and good for its third record closing high of 2026. It was also the fourth straight day of gains, the best run for NVDA since October 29, 2025.

NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA

The previous record close was $216.61, set on April 27.

Over that four-day stretch, the stock has climbed 13% and added roughly $550 billion in market capitalization. To put that in context, only 18 U.S. companies have a total market cap above $550 billion. Nvidia’s market cap now sits at $5.33 trillion.

The move came as broad excitement around AI chips lifted the sector. But Nvidia has actually been a relative laggard this year compared to some of its peers.

Falling Behind Intel and AMD

Despite the record close, NVDA is up just 15% year-to-date through last Friday. That trails Intel and AMD, both of which have roughly doubled in 2026.

The reason? Investors have been rotating attention toward CPUs and their role in AI inference — the stage where a trained model actually runs and delivers outputs. That’s AMD and Intel’s turf.

“The gold-plated investment in AI is now stagnating, while the second in line are making new highs almost every day,” wrote independent analyst Richard Windsor of Radio Free Mobile. “The market’s attention has also passed from chip supply to electricity supply and CPUs, as these are rapidly becoming a bottleneck.”

It’s a notable shift for a company that has dominated the AI hardware conversation for the past few years.

Eyes on May 20 Earnings

The next real test for Nvidia comes on May 20, when the company reports Q1 fiscal results.

Wall Street is expecting revenue of $78.6 billion for the quarter — up 78% from a year ago.

Reitzes carries the highest price target on the street at $380, according to FactSet data.

Of 70 analysts tracked by FactSet, 65 rate Nvidia a Buy. A separate consensus from 42 analysts gives the stock a Strong Buy rating, based on 40 Buy, one Hold, and one Sell recommendation over the past three months.

The average price target across those 42 analysts sits at $274.38 — implying around 24% upside from current levels.

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