BNP Paribas continues to list NVIDIA (NVDA.US) as its top pick in the semiconductor sector and has raised its price target from $285 to $345.

The bank believes that with a complete product portfolio covering AI hardware, CUDA software, and networking products, NVIDIA is expected to maintain its leading position in AI computing. At the same time, as AI workloads further shift from model training to inference, the company's competitive advantage is expected to persist.

BNP Paribas also significantly raised its price target on Intel (INTC.US) from $75 to $125, but maintained a "Neutral" rating. The bank believes that growing computing demand from AI agents is expected to drive up server CPU demand, though whether Intel's foundry business can establish competitiveness remains a key factor affecting its future performance.

Rising AI Inference Demand Keeps NVIDIA as Top Pick

BNP Paribas stated that the price target increase for NVIDIA is mainly based on the company's broad AI product lineup. In addition to holding an important position in AI accelerator chips, NVIDIA also possesses the CUDA software ecosystem and networking products, enabling it to offer a product portfolio covering multiple aspects of AI computing.

As the AI industry develops, computing demand is increasingly tilting toward the "inference" phase, which refers to the process of AI models executing tasks in real-world applications after training is completed. BNP Paribas believes this trend is expected to continue supporting NVIDIA's market position.

Despite intensifying competition from custom chips and other semiconductor manufacturers, BNP Paribas expects NVIDIA to maintain gross margins above 70%, indicating the bank believes its product competitiveness and profitability remain resilient in the near term.

Based on these factors, BNP Paribas raised its price target on NVIDIA from $285 to $345 and continues to list it as its top pick in the semiconductor sector.

AI Agents Drive Server CPU Demand, Intel Price Target Significantly Raised

In addition to NVIDIA, BNP Paribas also notably raised its valuation expectations for Intel, significantly increasing the stock's price target from $75 to $125, while still maintaining a "Neutral" rating.

BNP Paribas believes that as AI agent applications continue to develop, demand for computing resources will further expand, potentially driving growth in server CPU demand and bringing new growth opportunities for Intel.

AI computing demand is not concentrated solely on GPUs and other AI accelerators. As AI agents need to call upon more computing resources to execute complex tasks, the importance of traditional server CPUs may also rise accordingly. BNP Paribas believes this trend could become a potential supporting factor for Intel's future business.

Foundry Remains a Key Test, 14A Process Progress in Focus

However, BNP Paribas remains cautious on Intel, with the core reason being the significant uncertainty surrounding the outlook for its foundry business. BNP Paribas analysts stated that Intel's 14A process will become a key indicator of whether the company can establish a competitive foundry business. However, due to limited visibility on important customer projects at present, the bank has chosen to stay on the sidelines for now.

Therefore, although the server CPU demand growth brought by AI agents has improved Intel's potential growth prospects and prompted BNP Paribas to significantly raise its price target, whether the foundry business can achieve substantive progress will remain an important factor in determining whether the market can further revalue Intel.

By contrast, BNP Paribas holds a more positive view on NVIDIA. The bank believes that against the backdrop of sustained growth in AI computing demand and a gradual shift of workloads toward inference, NVIDIA, with its complete ecosystem formed by chips, CUDA software, and networking products, is expected to maintain its leading position and sustain gross margins above 70% even as competition intensifies.