NVDA, PLTR, QCOM, SPCX, MRVL: Why Retail Traders Couldn’t Take Their Eyes Off These Stocks Last Week

The week was marked by developments, including a probe into Nvidia’s CEO, strong results from Palantir, and Musk’s ambitious revenue goals.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s admission of a personal relationship prompted a board investigation.
• Palantir reported 96% revenue growth in Q3, with U.S. commercial sales overtaking government revenue.
• SpaceX shares faced pressure following the U.S. midterm elections, but Elon Musk remained confident of strong growth.

From Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s admission of an affair that led to a board investigation to Marvell’s (MRVL) $115 billion deal to acquire Lumentum Holdings (LITE), the week of Nov. 2-6 was filled with corporate drama, major deals and big earnings reports that kept retail investors watching closely. 

Nvidia CEO Faces Board Probe After Admitting To Personal Relationship 

Nvidia faced leadership concerns after CEO Jensen Huang told employees in a memo on Sunday that he had an affair with a former Megaspeed International executive who is suspected by U.S. officials of having links to foreign intelligence activities. 

Nvidia’s board has deployed an independent committee to probe the matter. The development comes at a time when the company is also facing heat about slower data center spending, with its valuation sliding below $5 trillion. Nvidia stock fell 8.8% for the week, marking its biggest weekly loss since April 2025. However, retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained ‘extremely bullish’. 

President Donald Trump backed Huang on Sunday, calling him a “fine person” and saying he should continue as CEO. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “I have not spoken to him about it; I just know he's a fine person. You never know what's going on. I hope everything's fine; he's done such an incredible job. He's a fine person in my opinion."

Palantir Revenue Jumps 96% On Commercial Business Strength

Palantir reported strong third-quarter results, with revenue rising 96% year-on-year to $2.31 billion with earnings of $0.44 per share. U.S. commercial sales grew 148% to $984 million, surpassing government revenue for the first time. After signing 212 major business deals, the company raised its 2026 revenue forecast to about $8.53 billion. Truist also raised its price target to $250 from $223. 

In an interview with Bloomberg, Louis Mosely, Palantir's executive vice president for the U.K. and Europe, called the development a major milestone for the company. “I think it's a very significant milestone and it's an indicator of the direction of travel for the company. Despite the revenue gains, Palantir stock dropped over 12% during the week. Retail sentiment around the stock remained ‘extremely bullish’. 

Qualcomm Partners With SpaceX To Expand Beyond Handsets

Qualcomm reported Q4 revenue of $10.3 billion, feeling the weight of a 26% drop in handset chip sales. However, the company sped up its transition into a diversified tech provider, noting that non-handset lines (Automotive, IoT, and Data Center) are scaling to cross 50% of QCT revenue by fiscal 2027. 

Crucially, Qualcomm announced a massive multi-year collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to supply chips and software (Dragonwing QRU100 and QDU100 platforms) for Starlink Mobile's upcoming nationwide cellular network. Qualcomm stock edged 0.4% higher over the week with retail sentiment around the stock remaining ‘extremely bullish’. 

Elon Musk Sees SpaceX ARR Surpassing $500 Billion By 2027 End 

SpaceX stock came under pressure after Democrats made major gains in the midterm elections, affecting Elon Musk’s political influence and investments. Despite concerns about funding for tech infrastructure, Musk said at the Baron Investment Conference that SpaceX’s revenue growth was gaining, with quarterly growth potentially reaching 70%. He also expects the company’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) to exceed $500 billion by December 2027. 

"It seems quite likely that our ARR in Dec 2027 will exceed $500B. This is not a promise, this is my best guess. $1 trillion is not out of the question. It was previously out of the question, but now it is not. Maybe 2% likelihood. But the interesting part is that it's not 0%, and the probability is increasing with time,” said Musk.

SpaceX stock recorded a 0.3% weekly dip with retail sentiment remaining ‘bullish’. 

Marvell Strikes $115 Billion Deal To Acquire Lumentum 

Marvell stock plunged 28.1% to its worst week in 25 years after agreeing to acquire optical component maker Lumentum in a massive $115 billion all-stock transaction—marking the largest-ever public tech M&A deal. 

The deal aims to benefit from growing demand for optical connections in AI data centers. However, it drew mixed reactions and sent both stocks lower. However, Morgan Stanley called Marvell’s selloff “overdone” and defended its history of successful acquisitions and maintained its ‘Equal Weight’ rating with a $300 price target. 

Retail sentiment around the stock slipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’. 

So far this year, NVDA and MRVL stocks are up 0.08% and 66%, respectively, while PLTR, QCOM, and SPCX stocks have declined between 3% 16 and 16%. 

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