Hedge funds piled into Nvidia in the first quarter just in time for the chipmaker’s eye-popping rally following a blowout forecast. The smart money also loaded up on other tech stocks tied to artificial intelligence (AI), according to Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street investment bank analyzed the holdings of 740 hedge funds with $2.2 trillion of gross equity positions at the start of 2023, based on regulatory filings. Goldman then identified technology, media, and telecom (TMT) stocks with the largest net changes in hedge fund popularity during the first quarter. Nvidia has been at the heart of this year’s stock market obsession around AI, and the chipmaker is now closing in on a $1 trillion market cap after it made a shockingly strong forecast of future demand. Shares skyrocketed nearly 28% in early trading Thursday. Nvidia said it expects sales of about $11 billion , plus or minus 2%, in the fiscal second quarter ending July 31, more than 50% higher than Wall Street estimates of $7.15 billion. CEO Jensen Huang said the company was going to have a “giant record year.” A total of 34 hedge funds added Nvidia to their portfolio in the first quarter, according to Goldman. Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller ‘s Duquesne Family Office i ncreased its Nvidia holding significantly last quarter , boosting the chip maker to his second-largest bet. Druckenmiller recently said AI is “real” and could be “every bit as impactful as the internet.” David Tepper’s Appaloosa and Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global also made fresh bets on Nvidia last quarter. Hedge funds also increased their exposure to other semiconductor makers that are associated with advanced chips required for AI services, including National Instruments , KLA Corp., Silicon Laboratories and Dynatrace . National Instruments is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software, while Dynatrace is a provider of software intelligence platforms based on AI and automation. KLA Corp. provides equipment and services used by semiconductor, data storage, LED, photovoltaic and related nanoelectronics industries, while Silicon Laboratories designs and manufactures semiconductors and software.
