Tench Coxe sells $235 million worth of $NVDA shares

Tench Coxe sold $235 million worth of NVDA shares. The sale gained public attention as he was the third-largest holder of NVDA shares. The report fanned online speculation as users tried to understand what the trade meant for Nvidia’s future.

Tench Coxe, one of Nvidia’s top shareholders, dumped Nvidia shares worth $235 million on September 24th. The billionaire’s role on Nvidia’s board and the timing of his sale drew attention to the trade as users sought to understand the decision to sell. Many online users have tried to make sense of what the trade means for Nvidia going forward.

Coxe has held Nvidia shares since the 90s

Nvidia MONSTER Insider Trading Alert 🚨

Tench Coxe, the 3rd largest Nvidia shareholder who acquired these shares in 1997, just dumped $235 million worth of $NVDA shares. pic.twitter.com/xuOrtVRl0F

— Barchart (@Barchart) September 24, 2024

Tench Coxe’s trade was reported along with a post of the filled-out SEC Form 4. Coxe executed the trade in three transactions, the earliest one being done on September 19th. Coxe sold 202,978 shares at $119.2664 per share for the first transaction. The second transaction was executed on the same date, selling 797,312 shares at $117.2922 per share. The final transaction was conducted on September 20th, with Coxe selling off 4,852,480 shares at $116.2666 per share. 

The filled-out SEC Form 4 also noted that Coxe still holds 54,368 $NVDA shares. The report also mentioned multiple shares disposed of through a profit-sharing plan trust.

Coxe was one of the top three individual shareholders of Nvidia, alongside founder Jensen Huang and Mark Stevens. He became a director in 1993 and began acquiring $NVDA shares when the company was starting out. Over the years, he accumulated millions of Nvidia shares. 

The company’s growth resulted in its share prices growing from $49.10 on January 1st, 2024, to $120.87 today. Nvidia’s growth made it the world’s most valuable company, ahead of Microsoft, after it had attained the $3.34 trillion market capitalization mark.

The former Nvidia board member did not provide any context as to why he had sold off most of his shares. Many investors suspected Coxe’s sale may have been due to personal financial plans.

In the first half of 2024, Coxe and Mark Stevens sold $170 million and $22.2 million in $NVDA shares, respectively.

$NVDA stock price gains despite the sale

NVIDIA maintained robust financial metrics despite the massive offloading of $NVDA shares worth over a billion. The chipmaker had a market cap of $2.96T and an estimated gross profit exceeding $70 billion, with a profit margin of 76%, highlighting operational efficiency. 

NVIDIA shares edged up 2.2% to $123.54 during morning trading on September 25, with an average volume of 331.24 million. MarketWatch confirmed that the stock had closed up 4% on September 24. $NVDA shares gained 9.15% in the last five days and 149.87% YTD. The rise in stock price projected positive demand for the chip maker’s hardware. 

According to Yahoo Finance, NVDA share prices have not closed below $100 since August 7 ($98.91). They only dipped to $97.52 on August 8 but closed at $104.97 on August 8. NVIDIA outperformed outcomes projected by top industry analysts like Wolfe Research and Bernstein, among others.