Should you really buy Nvidia stock after CEO Jensen Huang leaves? Wall Street has a clear answer for investors.

Nvidia (NVDA -2.01%) has been making headlines in recent days. CEO Jensen Huang resigned from his post after revelations of extramarital affairs, including a relationship with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence services suspect of spying for China.

Nvidia’s board of directors launched an investigation into the potential national security implications of this news, and Huang officially resigned on Thursday (October 12), leaving the semiconductor company he co-founded more than three decades earlier. The board also named longtime CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO while a permanent successor is found.

Huang has been regularly praised for his visionary leadership in recent years and has become one of the most influential figures in the artificial intelligence revolution. Some investors fear his departure will have devastating repercussions for Nvidia. In fact, the stock is down nearly 20% this month and is currently 32% below its record high.

Read on to find out what some Wall Street analysts have to say on the subject.

Jensen Huang. Image source: Nvidia.

Several Wall Street analysts have significantly lowered their price targets

Stacy Rasgon at Bernstein halves its price target. He now estimates that Nvidia is worth $200 per share, up from $400 per share. Rasgon is less concerned about the short-term consequences of Jensen Huang’s departure, and more concerned about the impact his absence could have on the company in the long term, given how he has managed business operations and his level of involvement with customers, suppliers and the AI ​​sector as a whole.

“We’re not really worried about the near-term impacts to the business from last week’s events and, of course, the shares are extremely cheap,” Rasgon said. But he doesn’t necessarily advocate buying on the dip. “We see considerable uncertainty about the news that is likely to come, as well as the ability of any new CEO to truly replace Jensen.”

Rasgon wasn’t the only analyst to significantly reduce his price target following Huang’s departure. Ben Reitzes of Melius Research lowered his target to $185 per share, from $315 previously, citing uncertainty beyond fiscal 2027. Tristan Gerra of Blair cut his target to $200 per share, from $500 previously, highlighting uncertainty over Nvidia’s leadership and a potential slowdown in AI infrastructure spending in 2027.

The harshest review came from Mark Lipacis at Evercorewhich cut its target to $186 per share from $465. Nvidia currently trades for around 12 times forward earnings, the cheapest valuation in 15 years. But Lipacis thinks the figure will fall further because “Nvidia does not have an obvious succession plan or an operational number two.” Additionally, he believes the semiconductor boom associated with the AI ​​revolution is only in its final innings.

Most Wall Street analysts think Nvidia stock is undervalued

Several analysts maintained their price targets following the announcement of Huang’s resignation. This includes Simon Leopold at Raymond James, who reiterated his strong Buy rating and price target of $515 per share. He explained his rationale in a note to clients:

“We see modest risk to fundamentals and believe the market has overreacted to the recent US election. Although Jensen Huang has been an outstanding CEO closely associated with the company, we argue that Nvidia is more than its CEO. The evolution of AI continues and Nvidia remains an important player.”

Meanwhile, Wedbush’s Matt Bryson reiterated his outperform rating and maintained his price target of $345 per share. He acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the executive transition, but said high demand for AI infrastructure, coupled with Nvidia’s dirt-cheap valuation, means “almost any level of uncertainty is already priced into the stock.”

Finally, Joseph Moore at Morgan Stanley and Timothy Arcuri at UBS maintained their price target of $300 per share. However, Arcuri described Jensen as a “singular strength” that has kept Nvidia ahead of its peers in terms of supply chain security. He also believes the national security implications of the situation could prompt the government to impose even stricter export controls, perhaps in regions like Singapore and Malaysia.

Here’s the big picture: Even though some Wall Street analysts lowered their price targets following the news of Huang’s resignation, most still believe the stock is deeply undervalued. Indeed, Nvidia currently has a median price target of $277.50 per share, implying a 70% upside from its current stock price of $163. Long-term investors should consider buying a small position today.