Shares of NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) are on a tear Tuesday, fueled by news that CEO Jensen Huang has finished selling company stock under a pre-arranged trading plan. This move has piqued investor interest and sent the stock higher.
Earlier this year, Huang adopted a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, a mechanism that allows executives to sell shares at predetermined times and prices, mitigating insider trading concerns. According to a report by Barron’s, Huang has completed the sale of the maximum number of shares allowed under the plan, several months ahead of schedule. Initially, the plan was set to run until March 2025, but Huang sold all six million shares six months early.
The sales, which took place between June 14th and September 13th, saw Huang part with shares at prices ranging from $91.72 to $140.24, netting him approximately $713 million. These shares were sold from a personal account that still holds around 75.4 million Nvidia shares. Huang also reportedly owns 786 million shares through trusts and partnerships, making him the company’s largest shareholder with a 3.8% stake as of March.
The timing of the stock sale comes amidst a remarkable period for Nvidia. The company’s shares have skyrocketed over 140% year-to-date, following a triple-digit surge last year. This performance is attributed to Nvidia’s leading position in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) market. Nvidia’s recent financial results showcase this momentum, with revenue growth of 122% year-over-year in the most recent quarter and projections for sustained growth driven by strong demand for AI. “NVIDIA achieved record revenues as global data centers are in full throttle to modernize the entire computing stack with accelerated computing and generative AI,” Huang said. “Generative AI will revolutionize every industry.”
Following the Barron’s report, NVDA stock initially dipped in early trading but quickly reversed course, gaining 4.14% on the day and trading around $121.07 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.
