A wave of insider selling at Nvidia has topped US$ 1 billion over the past year, with more than US$ 500 million worth of shares sold just this month, according to data from VerityData reported by the Financial Times. As investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence pushes the chipmaker’s stock to record highs, top executives and board members are taking profits.
The CEO, Jensen Huang, sold stocks this week for the first time since last September. Other insiders have followed suit, like board member Mark Stevens, an early backer through Sequoia Capital, who filed to sell up to 4 million shares. He has already sold the equivalent of US$ 288 million. Tench Coxe, a longtime board member linked to Sutter Hill Ventures, sold around $143 million also this month. Brooke Seawell, a partner at NEA and former Synopsys exec, and Jay Puri, executive VP, are also in the cohort. Most of these figures have been with Nvidia since its early days.
According to Nvidia, all transactions were executed under a pre-arranged trading plan filed in March, which automates sale timing and pricing. Huang, who still holds the bulk of his shares, is authorized to offload up to 6 million shares by year-end. At current prices, that would bring in around $900 million. Forbes currently estimates his net worth at US$ 138 billion.
Skyrocket
Nvidia’s rise has been dramatic. After dipping in April amid new US export restrictions and rising Chinese competition in AI hardware, shares have rebounded strongly. The company’s market cap now stands at around $3.8 trillion, positioning Nvidia as the world’s most valuable listed company, ahead of tech titans like Apple and Microsoft.
Despite the scale of the selling, analysts don’t see red flags. The sales were pre-scheduled and occurred after the stock rebounded above key thresholds.
