Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) insiders have sold over $1.8 billion worth of shares this year, with more sales potentially on the horizon. According to data from Washington Service, Nvidia executives and directors have offloaded nearly 11 million shares in 2024, marking the highest annual sell-off since at least 2020. Despite this, these sales represent a small fraction of Nvidia's 24.5 billion outstanding shares.
Investor anxiety has been fueled by delays in Nvidia's Blackwell chip shipments and uncertainty about the sustainability of tech firms' high investments in artificial intelligence. The insider sales continue, with CEO Jensen Huang completing his sale of 6 million shares and board member Mark Stevens planning to sell an additional 3 million shares after already selling 1.6 million shares this year.
Nvidia has declined to comment on these insider transactions. Research Head Mike Bailey from Fulton Breakefield Broenniman remarked that such sales might deter investors considering buying Nvidia stock at this time. This year, Jensen Huang has been the largest seller. His sales, executed under predetermined plans unrelated to news or stock movements, typically include a three-month waiting period before commencement.
Under the 10b5-1 plan, Huang sold about $713 million worth of Nvidia shares around mid-June and mid-September, during which the stock fell about 5% amid AI market concerns. Despite these sales, Huang retains over $100 billion in Nvidia stock value.
Kenneth Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, noted that a CEO's stock transactions are not closely correlated with stock performance in the long run, emphasizing that Huang's sales do not suggest a slowdown in growth prospects. Huang himself commented in an interview that Blackwell is in full production, with demand reaching unprecedented levels.
