Will GeForce GTX 1080 Ti launch change the course of  NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Stock? 

Shares of Santa Clara, California-based NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA) had a rough last week. NVDA stock lost over 10% on account of back-to-back downgrades from different analysts. One of the downgrades came from the desks of Nomura. Romit Shah, the analyst from Nomura stated the concern over NVIDIA's gaming segment was one of the main reasons behind the rating downgrade of NVDA stock. This makes the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce GTX Gaming Celebration event at GDC 2017 on Feb 28th much more interesting where NVIDIA would unveil the first look of its GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, which could be the fastest graphic card in the world. This event could, in a big way, suggest what's next for NVIDIA in the gaming segment. Will this event be a change agent for NVDA stock? Let's take a closer look.

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti- The Fastest Graphic Card In The World?

According to a report on Forbes, NVIDIA's latest offering could be the fastest graphics card in the world. According to the author, "GeForce GTX 1080 Ti could be a consumer-class, tweaked version of either the Quadro P6000 or GP100. If NVIDIA gooses up the GP102’s base and boost clocks, and keeps the memory humming at a similar speed, it should be the fastest GPU on the market and the most powerful GeForce card released to date, hence that #ULTIMATEGEFORCE hashtag." The success of this launch is very crucial for the company's gaming segment as AMD (Nasdaq:AMD) is stealing NVIDIA's thunder in the GPU department. Also, AMD is scheduled to preview its Vega GPUs in GDC 2017. The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti should strengthen the dominance of NVIDIA in the gaming segment as "1080 Ti aims to be 2017’s best card from NVIDIA GeForce". It is in a way very important for NVIDIA to ensure AMD does not hog all the limelight at GDC 2017 with its launches. To add to that, it has been a year since Titan X (P), NVIDIA’s best card was launched, so a refresh was eagerly awaited.

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Could Solve Gaming Concern.

A fellow Amigobulls contributor had addressed the 'Gaming' segment concerns in a previous NVIDIA post, citing the management commentary from the latest earnings call. To add to it, a Wccftech post reports that NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti could hit the market by March end and AMD is supposedly only previewing their "Vega 10 graphics cards which are a bit faster than the GTX 1080". Vega GPUs are only expected to be available by the end of Q2. This gives GTX 1080 Ti more time to capture the market and may galvanize the gaming segment with its early launch. Also, as it is touted to be the fastest graphic card in the world, it may keep AMD at bay for a considerable duration. The early launch may also help the upgrade cycle to Pascal GeForce by NVIDIA enthusiasts pick up more pace.

The above report suggests that "we could possibly see P6000 specs on the 1080 Ti with drivers optimized for AAA gaming and VR." This would give AMD a tough time in VR gaming. AMD currently has an edge over NVIDIA in this space. Also, VR gaming is expected to pick up more pace in 2017 as evidenced by Sony surpassing its own expectations, selling 915,000 PlayStation VR headsets in first four months. The unveiling of GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is eagerly awaited and the performance benchmarks, if in line with expectations, could come as a big boost to NVDA stock.

NVIDIA Still The GPU Market Leader.

Jon Peddie Research for Q4 2016 , as reported by Wccftech states that in Q4 "NVIDIA GPU market share now stands at 70.5% compared to 70.2% in the previous quarter". The research finds that "PC gaming is the single strongest pillar to lift up this market. Demand for gaming PCs is at an all time high and this has resulted in many OEMs and AIB partners supplying gaming branded products, aimed specifically at the PC gaming audiences." An important point to note in the research findings is the growth of performance PC market by a huge fraction over the past few months and enthusiast cards have also seen an increase in overall shipments. This growth has been driven by NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1070, GTX 1080 and GTX Titan X. The research expects "GTX 1080 Ti graphics card aim to amp up the PC gaming market with some outstanding performance figures." GTX 1080 Ti could help NVIDIA capture a large chunk of the PC gaming market, which is going strong crossing over $30B in sales in the US alone. It is expected to continue growing and GTX 1080 Ti could be a likely catalyst.

Final Thoughts

Technicals suggest NVDA stock is still in the oversold territory so a likely rebound is around the corner. NVIDIA's growth story remains intact if you go by management commentary at least. NVDA stock may be headed lower over the short-term given the negative commentary about NVDA stock. But the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti launch could reverse the trend. A rebound may not be ruled out if NVIDIA comes out all guns blazing at the GDC 2017 event. GeForce GTX 1080 Ti offers a lot of promise to all the NVIDIA gaming enthusiasts who would be expecting another star performer from the graphic card maker.