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One of the top performers since the start of 2024 has been Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report), with the chipmaker largely outperforming the broader market and now soaring over +200% in the last year.

Nvidia’s blazing trail has led to higher highs as investors have flocked to consume positions in the artificial intelligence leader. Let’s see if it’s time to buy Nvidia’s stock, which is already up +20% year-to-date.

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Recent Momentum

Remarkably, Nvidia’s stock blew past the $500-a-share mark last week, continuing a very bullish trend after eclipsing its 50-day moving average. Also, it has recently blown away its 200-day moving average.

Nvidia’s stock has recently been seen trading on the cusp of $600 a share, closing Friday's trading session up +4% and hitting new 52-week highs of $595. The pile-in comes as Nvidia’s superior AI chip, the HGX H200, is slated to come out during the second quarter of this year. This is expected to keep the company ahead of its competitors, such as AMD (AMD - Free Report) and Intel (INTC - Free Report).

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When Does Nvidia Report Earnings?

Nvidia will be reporting its Q4 results on Feb. 28, and the company is expected to post another quarter of exponential growth.

Fourth quarter earnings are expected to skyrocket 410% to $4.49 a share versus $0.88 per share a year ago. Quarterly sales are projected to soar 232% to $20.1 billion. This would also mark Nvidia’s fifth consecutive quarter of stellar sequential growth on both its top and bottom lines, with Q4 EPS and sales anticipated to rise 11% from the third quarter.

Nvidia has now surpassed earnings expectations for four straight quarters, posting an average earnings surprise of 18.99%.

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Bottom Line

Nvidia’s stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating, and the Average Zacks Price Target of $649.11 a share still suggests 13% upside. Stellar growth and, more importantly, its position as a leader in powering artificial intelligence could propel Nvidia’s stock even higher leading up to its Q4 report in February.

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