The CNBC investor panel on Friday discussed NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) ahead of its upcoming earnings report.
Nvidia is the "gold standard" in the semiconductor space, Odyssey Capital Advisors' Jason Snipe said.
The company is a leader in data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, he said: "It's a must-own."
The expectations for the company going into earnings are extremely high, but Snipe said he expects NVIDIA to report strong numbers.
O'Shares ETFs chairman Kevin O'Leary called NVIDIA the Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) of the semiconductor sector. He agreed with Snipe and said "it's a must-own name."
"Every single sector of the S&P 500 is using their products and services. They are the reason you can digitize, they optimize digitization," O'Leary said. "They are basically the infrastructure of the new America 2.0 digital direct-to-consumer business in every aspect of it ... I don't know how you can't own it."
Nvidia is scheduled to announce its second-quarter financial results after the market closes on Aug. 18.
NVDA Price Action: Nvidia has traded as high as $208.75 and as low as $109.58 over a 52-week period.
The stock closed Friday up 1.4% at $201.88.