NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Stock Price Down 4.5% - Here's Why

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw its stock price decrease by 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock reached a low of $118.62 before rebounding slightly to close at $118.19. Trading volume was approximately 126,747,916 shares, which is a 54% decline compared to its average daily volume of 277,408,250 shares. The previous closing price for NVIDIA was $123.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVIDIA has garnered attention from various research analysts who have been optimistic about the stock's potential. On November 21st, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target for NVIDIA from $145.00 to $160.00, maintaining a "buy" rating. Likewise, Citigroup increased their target from $170.00 to $175.00 with a "buy" rating. Wedbush also lifted their price target to $175.00, labeling the stock as "outperform." Wells Fargo enhanced their forecast from $165.00 to $185.00, categorizing it as "overweight." Additionally, Melius Research raised their price target to $185.00 on November 11th, with a "buy" rating. Overall, four analysts have assigned a hold rating, while thirty-eight provide a buy rating and two have given a strong buy. According to MarketBeat.com, NVIDIA currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" along with a consensus price target of $166.23.

NVIDIA Stock Performance

The company's financial ratios reflect strong fundamentals: it has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 3.64, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. NVIDIA boasts a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion and a price-to-earning (PE) ratio of 47.25, with a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's 50-day moving average stands at $136.58, while its 200-day moving average is $129.31.

NVIDIA released its latest quarterly earnings data on November 20th. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81, which surpassed the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.12. NVIDIA's revenue for the quarter was $35.08 billion, exceeding the expected $33.15 billion. The company achieved a remarkable year-over-year revenue increase of 93.6%, and the prior year's EPS was $0.38. Analysts speculate that NVIDIA will report an EPS of 2.77 for the current fiscal year.

NVIDIA Dividend Announcement

The company declared a quarterly dividend that was paid on December 27th to shareholders on record as of December 5th. Shareholders received a dividend of $0.01 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.04 and a dividend yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date for this payment was December 5th. NVIDIA's payout ratio is currently 1.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Recent insider trading activity shows notable stock sales. On January 6th, EVP Ajay K. Puri sold 36,462 shares at an average price of $151.10, totaling approximately $5.51 million. Following this sale, Puri retains 3,902,888 shares valued around $589.73 million, reflecting a 0.93% decrease in ownership. Additionally, Director Tench Coxe sold 1,000,000 shares on December 16th at an average price of $131.26, which amounted to about $131.26 million, reducing his ownership by 3.37%. In total, insiders sold 1,108,348 shares valued at approximately $146.51 million over the past three months, with company insiders holding 4.23% of the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NVIDIA

Institutional investors have shown increased interest in NVIDIA. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC raised their stake by 896.9% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 5,695 shares. Financial Guidance Group Inc. also increased their stake by 900.0%, while Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted their position by 858.9% in the same period. Generate Investment Management Ltd expanded their stake by 945.0%, acquiring 529,569 additional shares. Approximately 65.27% of NVIDIA's stock is now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation specializes in providing graphics and computing solutions globally, with a focus on gaming and PC graphics, cloud-based computing, automotive platforms, and software solutions for the metaverse and 3D applications.

NVIDIA, Stocks, Investment