After a multimonth slump, investors are excited about Nvidia's stock again. Or are they?

The stock just clinched its 11th consecutive daily gain, enough for its longest winning streak on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. To some on Wall Street, that suggests the artificial-intelligence trade is back in full force and ready to continue rewarding its onetime leader. But others wonder if Nvidia's (NVDA) momentum simply has more to do with the market's general rebound than with an improved view of Nvidia's prospects.

Nvidia's stock had been stalled for months, reflecting a number of factors such as general fears over the sustainability of hardware spending and a view that other AI plays had clearer narratives.

Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg isn't necessarily ready to buy into the idea that Nvidia's recent stock gains will translate into more down the road.

While he thinks there's growing AI optimism now, thanks to hype around things like Anthropic's powerful forthcoming Mythos model, Goldberg also chalks up much of Nvidia's momentum to an improved macroeconomic backdrop. Specifically, investors seem relieved that the Iran conflict may soon be ending.

He also noted that it can be harder nowadays for Nvidia to move the needle on investor expectations. Goldberg likened the company to a high-school valedictorian and swim captain who's expected to match that performance after heading off to college, "but college is more complicated."

Then apply that mindset to Nvidia's earnings report next month. "We all know the business is good...what could they possibly do to surprise us?" Goldberg asked.

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Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland also touched on the challenges facing Nvidia, which is once again closing in on a $5 trillion valuation. By this point, many fund managers already own the stock, he noted.

"Theoretically you might just reach a certain size where it's difficult to identify those new buyers," Rolland told MarketWatch.

But Benchmark analyst Cody Acree is upbeat about a return to AI optimism, which has been reinforced by announcements like Broadcom's $(AVGO)$ new partnership with Meta $(META)$, for instance. And Wedbush's Matt Bryson echoed that perception of "constant good news around the AI supply chain," giving the example of upbeat recent results from European chip-equipment supplier ASML $(ASML)$.

Acree said that he's seeing "strength across all of the drivers" for AI infrastructure, which has reignited all sorts of AI trades, including those linked to memory and networking.

In his view, investors are realizing that agentic AI and inferencing are "real monetizable trends," which are "continuing to build momentum as the year progresses," and that's providing a lift for Nvidia.

Shares of Nvidia rose 1.2% in Wednesday action. They've climbed 20.4% over the current 11-day stretch of gains.