For much of 2024, insider trading by Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang dominated headlines. His transactions coincided with massive stock growth fueled by the company’s role in artificial intelligence (AI).
Between June 14 and September 13, 2024, Huang offloaded 6 million NVDA shares, netting approximately $713 million under a prearranged trading plan.
While legal, such hefty sales can unsettle investors, hinting at impending headwinds and potentially triggering short-term sell-offs.
Picks for you
Notably, when it emerged that Huang had completed his selling plan on September 13, the move sparked a short-term NVDA price spike. At the time, the chipmaker’s equity was valued at $119.
Some viewed it as a bullish signal, suggesting no further insider pressure, a move that likely prompted sidelined investors to jump into the equity.
Since the executive’s last sale, NVDA has risen 4.8%, hitting $124.80 at the close of the last trading session.
Indeed, NVDA stock has experienced significant volatility during this period, sometimes reaching new highs thanks to impressive revenue. On the other hand, the equity also faced sharp declines, with a notable one emanating from the impact of the DeepSeek sell-off.
During this stretch, the stock soared above $150, offering even greater returns for those who timed the highs.
Investing $1,000 in Nvidia stock
Investors who saw the end of Huang’s sales as an opportunity and put $1,000 into NVDA on September 13 would now have $1,047.70, a 4.8% gain. Interestingly, cashing out at $150 would have turned the initial capital into $1,260, a 26% return.
Meanwhile, Nvidia’s share price has remained volatile, aligning with the broader stock market despite surpassing earnings expectations. During the fourth quarter, revenue soared to $39.33 billion, with data center sales, now 91% of total revenue, hitting $35.6 billion, up 93% year-over-year.
Though growth is slowing, Q1 2025 guidance still projects a 65% YoY increase, down from last year’s 262%.
Indeed, some analysts warn that Nvidia’s technical structure suggests potential downside risks, but the semiconductor giant’s fundamentals present a massive long-term growth opportunity.
Specifically, most of the attention is on the Blackwell chip pipeline, which Huang described as experiencing “insane” demand despite initial concerns about overheating.
As reported by Finbold, investment strategist Shay Boloor dismissed the notion that NVDA has already peaked, arguing that the company is still evolving. He noted that Nvidia is shaping the next era of computing and is likely to grow further.
According to Boloor, Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture is turbocharging AI reasoning, scaling 25 times faster than prior models, positioning the company at the heart of a computing revolution.
Wall Street analysts take on Nvidia stock
The long-term bullish outlook is backed by insights from Wall Street analysts who remain optimistic about the technology company. To this end, in the wake of the earnings report, analysts gave Nvida seven new ‘Buy’ ratings.
For instance, BofA Securities’ Vivek Arya raised his price target to $200, highlighting Nvidia’s dominance in AI and a 78% YoY revenue surge to $39.3 billion in Q4, alongside Blackwell sales exceeding expectations.
JPMorgan’s (NYSE: JPM) Harlan Sur maintained his $170 target with a ‘Buy’ rating, citing robust AI compute demand and a strong Blackwell production ramp.
Needham’s Rajvindra Gill reaffirmed a ‘Buy’ rating with a $160 target, noting that while Blackwell’s revenue beat eased overheating concerns, gross margin recovery may be slower than expected.
Raymond James’ Srini Pajjuri, maintaining a $170 target, pointed to Blackwell’s faster-than-expected ramp, while U.S. hyperscalers drive growth amid a decline in China’s share.
However, Summit Insights’ Kinngai Chan downgraded NVDA to ‘Hold,’ arguing that while near-term strength persists, the risk-reward is no longer favorable given high expectations and speculation about a PC Client MPU entry. He also warned that lower computing power requirements for AI inference could impact long-term growth.
Featured image via Shutterstock
