(Reuters) – Nvidia short sellers have raked in nearly $5 billion in paper profits from the AI chip designer’s sharp sell-off over the past three sessions, according to data analytics firm Ortex Technologies.
The stock has fallen 13% and lost $430 billion in market capitalization since June 18, when it briefly became the world’s most valuable company after a meteoric rise.
Short sellers gained $2.40 billion from Nvidia’s 6.6% drop on Monday, Ortex said, the biggest one-day gain since its data began in 2019.
Some market participants have attributed Nvidia’s pullback to investors leaving high-profile AI stocks and other sectors as 2024 approaches the halfway point.
Despite recent declines, optimism surrounding Nvidia’s role in driving the artificial intelligence boom has seen shares rise 145% this year, the second-best performance in the S&P 500.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)