Billionaire Money Managers Are Once Again Piling Into Nvidia Stock, With 2 Notable Exceptions
News Summary
According to the latest 13F filings, billionaire fund managers, who had previously been decisive sellers of Nvidia stock, returned en masse to this artificial intelligence (AI) leader during the second quarter, with two notable exceptions. Five prominent hedge funds, including Karthik Sarma's SRS Investment Management, David Tepper's Appaloosa, Dan Loeb's Third Point, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global Management, and Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management, significantly increased their Nvidia holdings in Q2. Key catalysts for this buying spree included an early April market swoon, triggered by President Donald Trump's tariff and trade policy reveal, which saw Nvidia's shares fall approximately 40%. Additionally, Nvidia's sustained competitive advantages in AI GPUs, the lifting of export restrictions for its H20 chip to China, and its accelerated innovation timeline also attracted these investors. Conversely, Ole Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global Investors reduced its Nvidia stake by 44%, while Paul Singer's Elliott Investment Management purchased put contracts, indicating an expectation of future downside. Their pessimistic stance may stem from simple profit-taking, but deeper concerns likely include the historical pattern of
Background
Nvidia is a global leader in graphics processing units (GPUs), particularly dominating the artificial intelligence (AI) accelerated computing sector. Its Hopper (H100) and Blackwell series GPUs face minimal competition in the AI data center market, allowing it to command significant premium pricing for its chips. Form 13F is a quarterly filing required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management, disclosing their equity holdings. These filings offer investors critical insights into the investment activities of top fund managers. In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies continue to influence global markets, as evidenced by his tariff policy reveal in early April, which triggered a mini-market crash. Furthermore, previous export restrictions on AI GPUs and related equipment to the Chinese market had impacted Nvidia's business. However, during the second quarter, export restrictions for Nvidia's H20 chip to China were lifted, paving the way for the company to resume sales in the world's second-largest economy.
In-Depth AI Insights
What are the underlying strategic motivations behind the divergence in billionaire investor sentiment towards Nvidia, beyond simple profit-taking or valuation concerns? - This divergence reflects differing assessments of Nvidia's position within the AI cycle. Buyers likely perceive Nvidia's central role in AI infrastructure, strong ecosystem lock-in, and continuous innovation as foundational to the long-term AI revolution, enabling it to weather short-term market volatility and valuation pressures despite high multiples. - Sellers, particularly those with a deep understanding of tech bubble history, might anticipate the impending commoditization of the AI GPU market. With increasing competition and major clients (e.g., Microsoft, Google) developing in-house chips, Nvidia's exceptionally high gross margins and pricing power could become unsustainable. Their strategy might be to exit early, mitigating the risk of a valuation reset once scarcity diminishes, especially against the backdrop of potential market uncertainties from President Trump's trade policies in 2025. How might the recent lifting of AI-GPU export restrictions to China for Nvidia's H20 chip impact its strategic positioning and the broader US-China tech rivalry? - The decision to lift export restrictions to China under the Trump administration in 2025 could represent a delicate strategic balance. For Nvidia, it reopens a massive market, helping sustain revenue growth and market share, especially as competition in high-end AI chips intensifies. This might be viewed as a concession by the U.S. government in specific sectors to prevent excessive economic harm to American companies. - However, this move could also raise concerns about national security and technological leadership. While H20 chips may be less powerful than the latest generation, their sale could still aid China's AI advancements. This might spur China to further accelerate indigenous AI chip R&D and production to reduce reliance on external technology, potentially intensifying U.S. resolve for stricter controls in other critical tech areas, creating a complex dynamic of