Piper Sandler has doubled down on Nvidia, maintaining its Buy rating and $225 price target while declaring the chip maker its top data center investment for 2026.
NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA
Kumar’s bullish stance centers on Nvidia’s continued dominance in AI infrastructure. The company delivered 65.22% revenue growth over the past year, cementing its position as the go-to supplier for data center chips.
The analyst points to three main factors driving his optimism: Nvidia’s technology lead, expanding partnerships, and robust software platform. These advantages have kept competitors at bay while demand for AI computing power continues to surge.
At current levels, NVDA trades at roughly 24.5 times expected earnings over the next 12 months. Kumar views this valuation as reasonable given the company’s growth trajectory.
A major catalyst for Kumar’s bullish view is Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin computing platform. The analyst expects this next-generation system to deliver strong performance gains and begin contributing to revenue in the second half of 2026.
Nvidia showcased Vera Rubin at CES 2026, revealing it as a full AI system rather than a single chip. The platform combines six chips operating together as one powerful computer. It represents Nvidia’s most advanced offering to date.
The company confirmed Vera Rubin is already in production. First systems will ship in the second half of this year.
Wall Street analysts project Nvidia will achieve something remarkable in 2026: surpassing Alphabet as the world’s most profitable company. Over the past 12 months, Alphabet generated nearly $125 billion in profits while Nvidia came in just shy of $100 billion.
The gap is closing fast. Analysts expect Alphabet’s revenue to grow 14% in 2026. For Nvidia’s fiscal 2027 ending January 2027, they’re projecting 50% revenue growth.
If both companies maintain current profit margins, Nvidia will generate approximately $170 billion in profits. That would eclipse Alphabet’s projected $146 billion.
The shift reflects the massive buildout of AI data centers happening globally. Nvidia believes worldwide data center capital expenditures will reach $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030. Its GPUs could comprise up to half of those costs.
The profit surge should push Nvidia’s market cap past another historic threshold. The company currently sits at about $4.6 trillion after briefly touching $5 trillion earlier.
With $170 billion in projected profits and a typical valuation of 40 times forward earnings, Nvidia’s market cap could reach $6.8 trillion during 2026. That would make it the first company to breach the $6 trillion mark.
No other company is close to challenging Nvidia for these levels. Apple and Microsoft trail in market cap and lack the same growth rate.
The TipRanks consensus rating for NVDA stands at Strong Buy based on 39 Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell from analysts covering the stock over the past three months. The average price target of $264.97 implies 43.34% upside from current levels.
Kumar holds a 72% success rate with an average return per rating of 35%. His track record adds weight to the bullish call on Nvidia as the top data center play for 2026.
Piper Sandler’s $225 price target suggests 21% upside, while the broader analyst community sees even more room to run.
The post Nvidia (NVDA) Stock: Top Analyst Names Company Top 2026 Data Center Pick appeared first on CoinCentral.


