NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Downgraded by Stonex Financial to “Hold”

Stonex Financial lowered shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NVDA. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NVIDIA in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of NVIDIA from $300.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NVIDIA in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NVIDIA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of NVIDIA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.89.

NVIDIA Price Performance

Shares of NVDA traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $162.85. The stock had a trading volume of 363,372,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,617,360. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 4.59. NVIDIA has a 12 month low of $148.80 and a 12 month high of $243.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $214.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.12.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer hardware maker reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $96.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.27 billion. NVIDIA had a return on equity of 96.04% and a net margin of 63.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 105.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that NVIDIA will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

NVIDIA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 28th that permits the company to buy back $150 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the computer hardware maker to reacquire up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

NVIDIA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. NVIDIA’s payout ratio is 12.64%.

Insider Transactions at NVIDIA

In other NVIDIA news, CFO Colette Kress sold 34,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.05, for a total transaction of $7,648,787.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 765,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,595,812.15. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Timothy S. Teter sold 30,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.80, for a total transaction of $6,786,488.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,687,660 shares in the company, valued at $598,810,648. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,766,118 shares of company stock worth $399,450,353 over the last three months. 3.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NVIDIA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of NVIDIA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,025,075,347 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $234,355,574,000 after acquiring an additional 15,291,910 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of NVIDIA by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 195,366,864 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $39,090,956,000 after purchasing an additional 4,165,875 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in NVIDIA by 10.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 133,768,018 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $23,329,141,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575,177 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in NVIDIA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 94,521,253 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $16,479,126,000 after purchasing an additional 555,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in NVIDIA by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 91,954,159 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $18,399,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.27% of the company’s stock.

Latest NVIDIA News

Here’s some of the latest news about NVDA:

• Negative Sentiment: Huang’s departure creates uncertainty around succession and strategy. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, and the board has not yet selected a search firm for a permanent replacement. CEO search update
• Negative Sentiment: Reports connecting the leadership scandal to scrutiny of possible chip diversions to China have raised risks of regulatory action and reputational damage. The allegations remain under investigation, while U.S. lawmakers are seeking testimony. Congressional scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded NVIDIA to Hold with a $170 target, and several firms have reduced price targets. Analysts also warn that leadership uncertainty could give chip rivals more opportunity to win business. HSBC downgrade coverage

NVIDIA Company Profile

NVIDIA Corporation develops graphics processing units (GPUs), accelerated computing platforms and related software. Founded in 1993, the company first became widely known for GPUs used in PC gaming and professional graphics. Its technology now also supports artificial intelligence, scientific computing and other data-intensive applications. NVIDIA’s offerings include GeForce products for gaming, data-center GPUs and systems for AI workloads, and networking products that connect computing infrastructure.