Why did Nvidia stock go up today? AI enthusiasm continues to rise
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares gained more than 4% on Monday, closing at a new 52-week high as investors continued to express optimism about the company's prospects in artificial intelligence. 
More than 56.5M shares changed hands on Monday, topping the average daily volume of just over 47M shares.
Since the start of the year, Nvidia (NVDA) shares have surged more than 100%, blowing past competitors like AMD (AMD), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Intel (INTC) and others.
Also adding to the optimism on Monday was March sales data from the Semiconductor Industry Association. The trade group said March sales rose 15% from February, suggesting the industry may be bottoming.
Late last month, investment firm Erste upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from hold, noting that artificial intelligence is poised to drive sales in its data center business "sharply" higher.
Additionally, HSBC, a longtime bear on Nvidia (NVDA), upgraded the stock last month, noting its pricing power in AI chips is likely to boost earnings considerably higher.
More on Nvidia and semiconductors

Nvidia slips even as it unveils new lower priced AI-enhanced GPU
AMD slips even as Citi sees 'positive' sentiment ahead of Q1 results
Nvidia erases losses on report top GPUs being sold more than $40,000 on eBay