Nvidia stock hits new all-time high: should you buy or take profits?

Nvidia stock NASDAQ:NVDA climbed again on Friday, extending a rally that has already pushed the stock to a fresh all-time high.

NVDA touched fresh record territory between roughly $216.8 and $217.7 intraday on Friday before easing back toward the $215.80 level.

The latest rally has reignited a familiar debate that follows every big leg up: Is this still a buy, or is it time to lock in gains?

The answer from Wall Street is still largely bullish, but the stock’s scale, valuation and pace of gains mean the bears are not hard to find.

Nvidia stock: What is driving today’s move

The immediate catalyst is Nvidia’s new partnership with IREN, the data-center operator that is building out a large AI infrastructure footprint.

Nvidia is planning to invest up to US$2.1 billion (approx. $2.9 billion) in IREN through a five-year option to buy as many as 30 million shares at $70 each, while the two companies aim to deploy as much as 5 gigawatts of AI infrastructure.

Jensen Huang framed the deal in classic Nvidia fashion, saying, “AI factories are becoming foundational infrastructure for the global economy.”

The bigger message is that the AI build-out is still broadening rather than narrowing.

AMD’s strong outlook this week and the latest gains in chip stocks have reinforced the view that hyperscalers and infrastructure players are still spending aggressively on compute.

The bull case is still firmly in charge

The Street remains overwhelmingly constructive as MarketBeat data shows 54 analysts covering Nvidia, with 48 Buys, four Strong Buys and just two Holds.

The average 12-month target is $275.25, which implies about 27.7% upside from current levels, while the high target is $400.

Some of the more bullish voices are making a structural case, not just a cyclical one.

Bank of America’s Vivek Arya said Nvidia could “pivot towards shareholder returns” now that the bulk of ecosystem investments may be nearing completion.

The shift could broaden the stock’s investor base and help narrow the valuation gap.

New Street Research’s Pierre Ferragu has been even more aggressive, saying Nvidia added “US$500 billion (approx. $697 billion) of orders since October” and is now “on a run rate of more than US$1 trillion (approx. $1.4 trillion) per year for orders today.”

Why some investors are trimming into strength

The caution argument is not that Nvidia’s business is weak; it is that the stock has already priced in a great deal of strength.

The investors looked past Nvidia’s strong results in February because they were wary the company was channeling capital into expanding the AI ecosystem instead of returning more cash to shareholders.

That is exactly why Bank of America’s shareholder-return thesis has landed so well: it gives the bulls a new argument beyond raw earnings growth.

There is also the technicality that the chip trade has moved a long way without Nvidia fully keeping pace.

AMD had outperformed Nvidia year to date, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has also surged sharply this year.

For investors already sitting on big gains, that makes partial profit-taking a reasonable way to manage risk.

For long-term investors, the more compelling case is still to own the stock and buy weakness rather than chase every new high.