NVDA Stock Eyes Worst First Half Since 2022: Retail Patience Wears Thin As Board Member Trims Stake For Third Time This Year

Nvidia shares are up a mere 4.7% in 2026, sharply below gains in Intel, AMD, and memory giant Micron.

• Investors have rotated money into AI infrastructure stocks they believe offer more upside.
• Sentiment has also been weighed down by concerns over export restrictions to China and questions around the sustainability of Nvidia’s exceptional growth trajectory.
• Nvidia’s 12-month forward PE is 19.4, the lowest since May 2018; In comparison, the P/E for Intel is 121.2 and AMD is 59.8.

Nvidia board member Mark Stevens sold $186 million in company stock earlier this month, according to an exchange filing released Monday, as the AI chipmaker continued to underperform both the broader chip sector and the broader market.

Nvidia's underperformance has been a persistent puzzle this year. Investors appear to have locked in profits after NVDA’s massive multi-year rally and rotated into memory chipmakers and emerging AI infrastructure names seen as offering better near-term upside. 

Sentiment has also been weighed down by concerns over export restrictions to China and questions about the sustainability of Nvidia’s exceptional growth trajectory.

NVDA stock is up a mere 4.7% year to date as June draws to a close. This would be the stock’s worst six-month performance since 2022.

In comparison, Intel has risen 257% and AMD 152%, while the chip benchmark iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained 104%. An incredible demand for advanced AI chips from data centers has powered the semiconductor trade; however, investors appear to believe that most of that is already priced into NVDA stock.

Nvidia Insider Sales

Stevens, an investor who has been on the Nvidia board since 2008 in his second tenure, sold 885,000 shares on June 18, according to the filing. Koyfin data also show that the latest transaction marks Stevens’ third open-market sale of NVDA stock, leaving him with 31.8 million shares.

Nvidia also disclosed the allotment of restricted stock units (RSUs) to all board members and Executive Vice President Timothy Teter, according to a series of simultaneous filings.

The latest trades sales follow sizable divestitures by Executive Vice President Ajay Puri and an $8.4 million sale by CFO Colette Kress earlier this year. Several institutional investors also recently offloaded shares, while Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang sold $1 billion in company shares between June and November last year.

Crucially, Micron’s blowout report last Wednesday lifted chip stocks but failed to have a bearing on Nvidia shares. Retail investors appear to be losing patience. NVDA stock was 0.1% higher in overnight trading ahead of Tuesday.

Retail, Analyst View On NVDA

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for NVDA was ‘bearish’ as of early Tuesday, unchanged for three weeks. Still, the message count linked to NVDA rose by 300%, and its follower count increased by 0.5% in the last 30 days.

“$NVDA NVIDIA is now the cheapest stock in the AI infrastructure complex despite arguably having the strongest competitive moat (CUDA, networking, DGX, NVLink, Spectrum-X, enterprise AI software),” a trader wrote.

Nvidia’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings is 19.4, the lowest since May 2018, per Koyfin. In comparison, the P/E for Intel is 121.2 and Advanced Micro Devices is 59.8.

Still, some suggested that there are several better opportunities in the market. “$NVDA do yourself a favor and sell it. Wall Street will not let this stock move. It's pointless investing in NVDA when there are a ton of other opportunities,” said a trader.

Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish. Currently, 58 of 61 analysts rate the stock ‘Buy’ or higher, 2 rate it ‘Hold,’ and 1 rates it ‘Sell,’ per Koyfin. Their average price target of $301.62 implies a 55% upside from the stock’s last close.

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