Nvidia Shares Rise in Premarket After Jensen Huang's Resignation
Nvidia shares rose 1.8% in premarket trading Friday as investors weighed CEO Jensen Huang's Thursday resignation over affairs reports; the stock is down more than 20% this month.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were 1.8% higher in premarket trading Friday as investors navigated the fallout from CEO Jensen Huang's resignation Thursday after reports of at least two affairs, according to CNBC. The stock had dropped sharply Thursday before recovering to close just over 4% lower, and Nvidia shares have fallen more than 20% over the last month.
Huang resigned after The New York Times reported he had a romantic relationship with Kimberly Powell, vice president of health care at Nvidia, CNBC said. He was already under scrutiny following a board investigation into his relationship with a businesswoman whom intelligence agencies say is a Chinese spy, according to CNBC. Reuters reported the existence of another affair with an unnamed Nvidia employee; Nvidia did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Before the resignation, several Wall Street analysts told CNBC that Huang's departure could cost Nvidia as much as 20% of its market value, given how critical he has been to the company's success. That view reflects how central Huang has been to Nvidia's rise in artificial intelligence chips.
Stephane Houri, head of equity research at ODDO BHF, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Friday that "a lot of the company's success has been built around Huang," and that it is about more than just Nvidia but also the "architecture of the AI industry that really depended on the vision" and expertise of Huang.
In delayed trading, Nvidia shares were down 4.3% at $166.19. The sources did not give a next dated event for the company.