Nvidia shares were down 11% this week as of Thursday's close and are headed for a sixth straight weekly decline, the longest losing streak since 2012, CNBC reported. The stock has lost 29% since the slide began in early October, roughly $1.6 trillion in market value, and Nvidia fell below Apple in the process.
Co-founder Jensen Huang, who led Nvidia for 33 years, resigned on Thursday after two extramarital affairs were made public, one with an alleged Chinese spy and one with the company's vice president of health care, according to CNBC. The board named finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor. Shares fell 4.3% on Thursday.
CNBC reported that the selling began before the Huang news: the stock fell about 9% the prior week, much of it after midterm elections that passed ballot measures which could slow the AI buildout, and earlier on worries that rising interest rates would hurt debt-reliant customers such as neoclouds.
Nvidia reports quarterly results on Tuesday, with analysts projecting 91% revenue growth to $108.9 billion, according to LSEG. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria cut his price target to $200 from $300 but kept a buy rating, saying he expects "a challenging transition." Oppenheimer analysts wrote that Huang's departure could "translate to a lingering share overhang."
