One of the best-performing stocks of the year is Nvidia Corporation NVDA, a semiconductor company seeing strong interest in its artificial intelligence capabilities. While shares have soared, several insiders are cashing out.
What Happened: Nvidia reported first-quarter financial results on May 24 that came in above analysts’ expectations. The company also provided guidance that came in well ahead of what analysts were forecasting for the next quarter and full fiscal year.
The strong results led to Nvidia shares surging and the company becoming the newest member of the $ 1 trillion market capitalization club.
While shares have continued to soar to new highs, several insiders have decided to take advantage and sell shares.
Benzinga previously reported on board member Tench Coxe filing for a proposed sale of 100,000 shares on May 26. The 100,000 shares were expected to bring in proceeds of $37.9 million for Coxe.
The filing by Coxe also revealed that the shares were purchased back in 1997, prior to Nvidia being a public company, which occurred later in January 1999.
Coxe is among the insiders that have filed to sell Nvidia shares in June. Coxe filed to sell 50,000 shares for estimated proceeds of $21.1 million on June 14.
Board member Harvey Jones filed for several transactions involving Nvidia shares. Jones, who has been on the board since 1993, filed to sell 119,795 shares for proceeds of $48.3 million on June 14. The filing listed acquisition dates of 1997, 2005, 2016 and 2017 for the shares that were being sold.
The sale by Jones followed a previous transaction on June 6 to sell 70,205 shares for proceeds of $28.4 million.
After the latest transaction, Jones would own 676,394 shares in the H.C. Jones Living Trust and 137,934 shares directly.
Board member Brooke Seawell, who has been on the Nvidia board since 1997, also filed to sell 860 shares for estimated proceeds of $365,233. The filing listed the shares with an acquisition date of May 2022 and were listed as an equity compensation.
Related Link: Nancy Pelosi Sold Early But This Congressman Waited Until Nvidia Hit $1 Trillion Market Cap To Sell
Why It’s Important: Insider sales can happen for a number of reasons, including for tax purposes or to offset low salary and compensation.
The insiders selling shares also still own sizable stakes in the technology giant.
In the case of Coxe, the board member still owns over four million Nvidia shares, making him the third largest individual shareholder of Nvidia, trailing only founder and CEO Jensen Huang and fellow board member Mark Stevens.
Coxe is worth an estimated $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Analysts have raised their price targets on Nvidia shares in the aftermath of the chipmaker’s first-quarter results and second-quarter guidance. Targets remain above current levels in most cases. A look at the latest analyst ratings after the company’s earnings report:
Needham: $460
Oppenheimer: $420
Morgan Stanley: $450
Bernstein: $475
Rosenblatt: $600
Bank of America: $450
Wedbush: $490
NVDA Price Action: Nvidia shares closed at $426.53 on Thursday, after hitting new 52-week highs of $431.88 earlier in the intraday.
Read Next: Nvidia Hit $1 Trillion Market Cap, Which Stock Is Next To Join Club? Here’s What Benzinga Users Said