Over the past year, chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) has dominated media headlines, especially after its share price soared by an astonishing 240% in 2023. Despite its mediocre performance last week, the stock is still up nearly 80% so far this year.

FactSet data shows that most analysts are still bullish on Nvidia. Of the 59 analysts who followed the stock, 52 gave a buy or increase holdings rating, and 7 gave a holding rating. Analysts are targeting an average share price of $1004.89, with potential upside close to 12%.

However, the sharp rise in Nvidia's stock price has also raised some questions: should those who have not yet invested buy the stock now or wait for the share price to drop. CNBC Pro interviewed two fund managers, and their opinions were not the same.

Alphinity Investment Management's portfolio manager Trent Masters recommended buying Nvidia, although he admits that “it is difficult to buy a stock that has already risen a lot.” “I personally missed Nvidia's initial rise and only bought when the stock price rose to $390 after the results were announced in May last year. This is probably one of the hardest things I've done in the past 10 years because buying a stock that has already gone up a lot feels like I'm making a mistake. But I think investors have to look at these things objectively,” he said. “We've seen its earnings quadruple to $29 per share, something we've never seen before.

Masters's only concern is that in the long run, Nvidia may lose some market share and be taken away by competitors such as AMD (AMD.O). However, considering the market demand for the Nvidia family of products, the company's strong market share of more than 50% in the GPU sector, and the sustainability of the company's profits, he remains optimistic.

Adam Coons, portfolio manager at Winthop Investment Management, has a different opinion. He acknowledged that Nvidia is a “great company” and actually has a “monopoly” position in the field of AI chip makers, but he has been reducing his holdings in the stock. We've always held Nvidia shares, but we've started selling because the current valuation is too high. He is now awaiting a slight “normalization” of Nvidia's valuation before increasing his holdings again.

The metrics he used to evaluate included the normalization of the company's price-earnings ratio and the addition of more revenue streams “capable of justifying future valuations.” For example, he wants an annualized revenue growth rate of close to 50% over the next five years to justify stock prices.

“If I could do that, I would definitely buy more stocks. I might be overfit, but I need a little more comfort. Coons said, “Even if I missed out on some upside opportunities, I wouldn't mind waiting any longer to make sure I paid the right price for this stock.

In fiscal year 2024, Nvidia's total revenue increased 265% year over year. Despite the reduction in stock positions, Coons remains cautiously optimistic about Nvidia. “In the long run, this is definitely a company or stock you want to own. I just think you need to be careful about some of the higher volatility in the short term,” Coons added.