Nvidia Shares Fall 7% in Session as CEO Scandal Deepens and Citi Cuts Price Target

Nvidia stock tumbled as much as 7.06% to a session low on Tuesday, November 10, extending a selloff that left the chipmaker down 18.5% over the prior five sessions, its worst such stretch since September 2022. The decline was driven by an escalating scandal surrounding CEO Jensen Huang, whose relationship with an alleged Chinese intelligence asset was already under FBI investigation. A new report from The Information added fuel to the selloff, alleging that the relationship may have facilitated the movement of at least $7.5 billion worth of chips over several years to Chinese firms, including some banned from receiving U.S. exports.

Citi analyst Atif Malik added to the pressure by cutting his price target on Nvidia to $285 from $315, citing rising high-bandwidth memory prices that are expected to weigh on gross margins. Malik maintained a Buy rating and said he expects Nvidia to reiterate prior guidance for approximately 70% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal 2028, but flagged order visibility among neocloud customers and the ongoing CEO investigation as key investor concerns. Analyst Dan Ives estimated the market is currently assigning about a 15% probability that Huang is removed as CEO, with an 85% chance he remains following a board investigation.

Nvidia briefly dipped below a $4 trillion market cap during afternoon trading before recovering to close above that level, ending the session down roughly 5.5%. The broader market also declined, with the S&P 500 closing 0.38% lower at 7,521.50, the Nasdaq falling 0.69% to 25,080.24, and the Dow Jones dropping 0.29% to 52,237.81. The CBOE Volatility Index briefly rose above 21 before retreating back below 20 by the close.