Nvidia shares jump 3% to record intraday high as chip rally continues

Nvidia Corp. shares surged 3% on July 22 to a record intraday high, extending a two-day semiconductor rally that has added more than $200 billion to the sector's market value.

Nvidia Corp. shares rose 3% to a record intraday high on July 22, extending a chip-sector rally that lifted the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) 5.5% a day earlier.

"Strong demand for data center hardware is supporting higher prices across the semiconductor sector," a team of UBS analysts led by Timothy Arcuri wrote in a July 21 note, lifting their price target on Intel to $121 from $83.

The move builds on momentum from the previous session, when Nvidia shares gained about 1% and the company disclosed a 9.3% stake in AI cloud provider Nebius Group. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has risen more than 8% over the past two trading sessions, recovering from a pullback that had dragged the AI trade down more than 30% from June highs. Among peers, Advanced Micro Devices gained 6% and Marvell Technology rose 9% on July 21.

Nvidia, trading at roughly 35 times forward earnings, remains the most valuable semiconductor company with a market capitalization exceeding $3 trillion. The stock's renewed strength comes ahead of earnings reports from fellow Magnificent Seven members Alphabet and Tesla on July 23, which will set expectations for AI-related cloud revenue growth — a key demand driver for Nvidia's data center GPUs.

AI Infrastructure Ties Deepen

The rally also lifted shares of Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure firms. Nebius Group jumped 19% on July 21 after the Nvidia stake disclosure, while CoreWeave rose more than 7%. Nvidia's strategy of expanding beyond chip sales into the broader AI ecosystem is reflected in its growing investments in cloud infrastructure partners.

Intel, which reports earnings on July 24, rose 6% on July 21 after announcing it will manufacture Fortinet's next generation of cybersecurity chips. The foundry win adds to a string of manufacturing agreements that have helped Intel shares more than double this year, though the stock remains more than 30% below its June highs.

For investors, the question is whether Nvidia's valuation can sustain its premium as AI spending shifts from training to inference — a less GPU-intensive workload. Nvidia's data center revenue, which accounts for more than 80% of total sales, grew 427% year-over-year in the most recent fiscal year, but growth rates are expected to decelerate as the comparison base expands.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.