Internal personnel at NVIDIA have cashed out over $1.8 billion USD so far this year! More selling is on the way
NVIDIA insiders have cashed out over $1.8 billion in stocks this year, with more sales expected. Although this portion of stocks is small, investors are concerned about the company's delay in launching the Blackwell series chips and AI spending. CEO Jensen Huang completed a pre-arranged transaction of 6 million shares, while a trust company controlled by director Mark Stevens also applied to sell another 3 million shares. Research director Mike Bailey pointed out that the level of insider selling may affect investor confidence
According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, as of this year, insiders at NVIDIA (NVDA.US) have already cashed out stocks worth over $1.8 billion, with more selling to come. Based on data compiled by Washington Service, NVIDIA executives and directors sold nearly 11 million shares of NVIDIA stock in 2024, the highest in a year since 2020.
Although this amount of stock only accounts for a small portion of NVIDIA's issued shares, investors are concerned about how long NVIDIA can continue to delay the release of the Blackwell series chips and AI-related expenses amidst the significant insider selling at NVIDIA.
It is worth noting that NVIDIA insiders also plan to further sell their NVIDIA holdings. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently completed a pre-arranged trading plan, selling 6 million shares of NVIDIA stock. A trust company controlled by NVIDIA director Mark Stevens has applied to sell another 3 million shares of NVIDIA stock, after previously selling 1.6 million shares earlier this year.
Fulton Breakefield Broenniman research director Mike Bailey stated, "When you see this level of insider selling, it certainly does not inspire confidence. But I would definitely put it in context with other situations." "For investors considering whether now is a good time to buy NVIDIA stock, this may give some people one less reason to buy NVIDIA stock."
The biggest seller of NVIDIA stock this year is Jensen Huang, whose 10b5-1 plan was executed in March (these plans pre-determine the selling situation on specific dates, regardless of news or stock price trends). According to the plan, Huang sold approximately $713 million of NVIDIA stock from mid-June to mid-September. During this period, NVIDIA's stock price fell by about 5%. However, even after executing the plan, Huang still holds NVIDIA stock worth over $100 billion.
Other significant sellers of NVIDIA stock include Mark Stevens and fellow NVIDIA director Tench Coxe, who sold approximately $390 million and $525 million of NVIDIA stock this year, respectively.
In recent months, NVIDIA's stock has faced many other pressures. Denny Fish, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, stated that the biggest factor is people's concerns about how long the substantial AI-related expenses will continue. He said, "As we enter 2025 and see the sales data for the Blackwell chips, we will draw conclusions." NVIDIA's stock price has been on a roller coaster ride since June this year. At that time, the company's market value briefly surpassed Microsoft and Apple, becoming the world's most valuable company. Since then, due to investors' concerns that the tech giant's spending on artificial intelligence may not yield satisfactory returns, NVIDIA's stock price has experienced two pullbacks of over 20%. However, the stock has rebounded each time, currently up about 10% from its peak on June 18.
While more insiders are expected to sell soon, investors do not necessarily have to interpret selling—especially pre-planned selling—as a bearish signal. Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, said, "In the long run, there is not a strong correlation between whether insiders are buying or selling and the performance of the stock." "NVIDIA's CEO selling his shares is not because he believes growth is slowing down. His thoughts are quite the opposite."