Tom Lee Says Jensen Huang Exit Doesn’t Change His Bullish Tech Outlook: AVGO, AMD Stocks Lead Chip Rally

Lee pointed to the “carnage” in several high-profile hedge funds and forced liquidations as evidence that the market had reached an “internal bottom.”

• AMD and AVGO stocks rallied in midday trade, with AMD on track for its strongest weekly performance in a decade and AVGO poised to post its strongest weekly gain on record.
• Nvidia shares remained under pressure on Thursday, while the broader semiconductor sector and major technology ETFs traded higher.
• In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump suggested former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take over as Nvidia CEO.

Chip stocks rallied on Thursday, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) leading gains, giving Fundstrat’s Tom Lee another reason to stand by his view that technology stocks have already hit bottom.

“We are sticking with the thesis that Technology stocks bottomed last week,” Lee said on Thursday, in a note cited by CNBC. He added that Huang’s exit “does not change our view.”

The confirmation comes after Lee said last week that memory, semiconductor, data center, and neocloud stocks are slated for the “biggest bounces” after the midterm election results came in.

AMD stock rose over 7% in midday trade on Thursday, on track to log its best week in a decade. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the company trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day.

AVGO stock rose around 6.9% and was on track to log its best week on record, and QCOM stock rose around 3.4% in midday trade. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Qualcomm dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while sentiment around Broadcom improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from the ‘bullish’ zone.

According to analysts, AMD and Broadcom may gain from an improved competitive position amid the leadership turmoil at Nvidia.

Lee Sees ‘Internal Bottom’ After Hedge Fund Carnage

According to Lee, last week’s selloff was the low point. He pointed to the “carnage” in several well-known hedge funds as proof that an “internal bottom” had formed.

“What is an internal bottom? That means a tsunami of selling and forced liquidations took place,” he said. “To me, the drop last week was a ‘black swan’ of sorts, given that hedge funds tend to be ‘beta neutral’ and therefore should not see sharp declines if Technology stocks fall.”

Lee said the market’s reaction to bad news is the key. “History shows markets bottom on bad news,” he wrote. In his view, the sign of a true bottom is that stocks stop falling when the news is bad, not that they bounce on good news.

Trump Backs Tim Cook For Nvidia CEO

Nvidia announced on Thursday that Huang had resigned and named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO. According to President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take over as Nvidia’s permanent CEO. 

<Source: @RealDonaldTrump/TruthSocial>

“It would be a betrayal of Apple or seen as such,” said CNBC’s John Fortt, citing why Cook stepping in for Huang may not work. “I've talked to Jensen about Apple a few times over the years, and I always got kind of a chilly reception to any comparison between Nvidia and Apple,” he added, stating that Apple and Nvidia's cultures are “not compatible.”

AI Spending Concerns Continue To Weigh On Tech

Tech stocks have been hit hard over the past month, with Wall Street and retail investors expressing concerns around whether the AI buildout can keep going while borrowing costs rise, with firms like CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius (NBIS) on track to raise more funds. 

Market commentators have also been pricing in a potential increase in political scrutiny of AI spending after the democratic sweep in the midterm elections last week. The Huang news added to the pressure.

CRWV stock was down nearly 8% in midday trade, while NBIS stock dropped 18% after the company announced $27 billion in capital expenditure for FY2026, higher than its previous guidance of $20 billion to $25 billion, during its third-quarter earnings. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CoreWeave remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, while sentiment around Oracle trended in ‘neutral’ territory. Only Nebius saw a shift with sentiment rising to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory.

However, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained over 1% in morning trade on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ) edged 0.5% higher, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) also rose around 0.5%. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around QQQ improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day while sentiment around XLK remained in the ‘bullish’ zone.

Meanwhile, NVDA stock was down around 4% at the time of writing, paring losses after a drop of 13% earlier in the day. “Buy the dip in $NVDA,” Lee said in a post on X. “Tomo, NVDA will still be the most important company in the world.”

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