Financial News

Nvidia to lead ‘idiosyncratic’ growth in market, portfolio manager says

13 May 2025

Shares of Coinbase and Nvidia are poised for further growth, according to David Wagner, Aptus Capital Advisors portfolio manager and head of equities. Wagner joined CNBC’s ” Power Lunch ” on Monday to discuss those names, as well as one renewable energy play, that rallied during Tuesday’s trading session. Coinbase Coinbase shares jumped 24% on Tuesday after S & P Global said the crypto exchange is getting added to the S & P 500 , putting the stock on pace for its best day in the market since the day after President Donald Trump’s November election win. The addition to the benchmark index will take effect before trading on May 19. “This stock, it’s not for everyone, but how can you ignore this monumental shift and appetite, not only in D.C., but across the institutional spectrum?” Wagner said. “The company has a 60% market share here in the U.S., which positions them perfectly for the institutionalization of crypto, which is going to lead to higher trading revenue.” Shares of Coinbase have had a rocky 2025 as market volatility due to tariff policy changes has dampened investor appetite for riskier assets. Still, shares have popped more than 46% over the past month and are up 3% this year after the recent market surge. Bitcoin prices spiked last week and topped $100,000, driving enthusiasm toward crypto. “I understand that crypto, it’s a very, very touchy subject, but this is probably one of the most simplistic ways to own this narrative, without really owning the underlying narrative,” he added. Nvidia Wagner is sticking by Nvidia as the artificial intelligence growth story strengthens. He said he hopes the “scarcity growth premium might finally find its way back to Nvidia.” Shares of Nvidia jumped 5.6% on Tuesday after CEO Jensen Huang announced the company will sell more than 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain. Nvidia will deploy its GB300 Blackwell chips, which were announced earlier this year and are some of its most advanced chips. “I don’t just like Nvidia. I love Nvidia. … The news out of Saudi Arabia today just continues to show the resiliency that the company has from a growth perspective, not just domestically, but also internationally,” Wagner said. “In a world of tariffs, everyone’s expecting growth to slow down specifically in the consumer areas of the market, but you’re also going to see growth slowing down internationally. So I think that this leaves this AI trade as the idiosyncratic area of growth moving forward,” he added. Nvidia’s recent comeback has put the chipmaker on track to close above a $3 trillion market cap for the first time since Feb. 28. First Solar First Solar was among the best performers in the S & P 500 on Tuesday, with a nearly 23% gain. The rally came after Wolfe Research upgraded the solar energy stock to outperform from peer perform, citing better clarity on the 45X federal tax credits for clean energy production. Wolfe expects First Solar will realize $10 billion from the tax credit. “It feels like this could be peak pessimism in the stock trading at 10 times earnings, which could create a floor for the stock as policies are probably not going to be any more punitive from a tax credit perspective. I do like the name,” Wagner said, noting that First Solar is the largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S. “If you’re not optimistic about this space right now, I’m just not sure when you will be,” he said. First Solar shares are up 8.7% year to date.

A logo sits illuminated at the Nvidia booth in Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 6, 2025.

Cesc Maymo | Getty Images

Shares of Coinbase and Nvidia are poised for further growth, according to David Wagner, Aptus Capital Advisors portfolio manager and head of equities.

Wagner joined CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Monday to discuss those names, as well as one renewable energy play, that rallied during Tuesday’s trading session.

Coinbase

Coinbase shares jumped 24% on Tuesday after S&P Global said the crypto exchange is getting added to the S&P 500, putting the stock on pace for its best day in the market since the day after President Donald Trump’s November election win. The addition to the benchmark index will take effect before trading on May 19.

“This stock, it’s not for everyone, but how can you ignore this monumental shift and appetite, not only in D.C., but across the institutional spectrum?” Wagner said. “The company has a 60% market share here in the U.S., which positions them perfectly for the institutionalization of crypto, which is going to lead to higher trading revenue.”

Shares of Coinbase have had a rocky 2025 as market volatility due to tariff policy changes has dampened investor appetite for riskier assets. Still, shares have popped more than 46% over the past month and are up 3% this year after the recent market surge. Bitcoin prices spiked last week and topped $100,000, driving enthusiasm toward crypto.

“I understand that crypto, it’s a very, very touchy subject, but this is probably one of the most simplistic ways to own this narrative, without really owning the underlying narrative,” he added.

Nvidia

Wagner is sticking by Nvidia as the artificial intelligence growth story strengthens. He said he hopes the “scarcity growth premium might finally find its way back to Nvidia.”

Shares of Nvidia jumped 5.6% on Tuesday after CEO Jensen Huang announced the company will sell more than 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain. Nvidia will deploy its GB300 Blackwell chips, which were announced earlier this year and are some of its most advanced chips.

“I don’t just like Nvidia. I love Nvidia. … The news out of Saudi Arabia today just continues to show the resiliency that the company has from a growth perspective, not just domestically, but also internationally,” Wagner said.

“In a world of tariffs, everyone’s expecting growth to slow down specifically in the consumer areas of the market, but you’re also going to see growth slowing down internationally. So I think that this leaves this AI trade as the idiosyncratic area of growth moving forward,” he added.

Nvidia’s recent comeback has put the chipmaker on track to close above a $3 trillion market cap for the first time since Feb. 28.

First Solar

First Solar was among the best performers in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, with a nearly 23% gain. The rally came after Wolfe Research upgraded the solar energy stock to outperform from peer perform, citing better clarity on the 45X federal tax credits for clean energy production. Wolfe expects First Solar will realize $10 billion from the tax credit.

“It feels like this could be peak pessimism in the stock trading at 10 times earnings, which could create a floor for the stock as policies are probably not going to be any more punitive from a tax credit perspective. I do like the name,” Wagner said, noting that First Solar is the largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S.

“If you’re not optimistic about this space right now, I’m just not sure when you will be,” he said.

First Solar shares are up 8.7% year to date.