Analysts have begun lowering their price targets for Nvidia. Without Huang, the company could lose up to 30% of its value.

Several investment banks have lowered their price targets for Nvidia shares over the past two days amid an internal investigation into the company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, and his ties to a woman who may be a Chinese spy. Tech optimist Dan Ives warned that the company could lose up to 30% of its value if its CEO were to resign. Nvidia’s stock fell more than 5% during trading on November 10.

— Mizuho cut its target price for Nvidia shares the most: the Japanese investment bank lowered its target from $315 to $250 (a 20% reduction), according to Investing. This still implies a 40% upside potential for the stock relative to its most recent closing price.

— President Capital took the second most drastic step, cutting its price target for Nvidia shares from $330 to $295 on November 9. This implies a 65.7% increase in the stock price relative to the closing price on Monday, November 9.

— On November 10, Citigroup lowered its price target from $315 to $285 (a 9.5% decrease), which implies a 60% increase in the stock price. The decision followed a downgrade of U.S. and global technology stocks to “neutral” due to deteriorating sentiment surrounding artificial intelligence.

— Wells Fargo was the last on the list of banks that have revised their price targets in recent days: its reduction turned out to be the smallest in percentage terms. It lowered its price target for Nvidia shares from $315 to $300 (a 5% decrease), while maintaining its “buy” rating, according to Investing. The new target implies a 69% upside for the stock. The firm’s analysts cited risks related to Huang’s irreplaceability as a key figure in the company as factors putting pressure on the stock price.

Nvidia, once the world's most valuable company by market capitalization, could face a massive drop in its valuation if Jensen Huang, who has found himself at the center of a scandal, is forced to step down, according to Yahoo Finance.

“We believe that if Jensen were removed from his position as CEO, the value of Nvidia as a company and its stock would be significantly lower (by 25–30%),” said Dan Ives, a partner at Yorkville Ives and a seasoned technology analyst. This would alter the future trajectory of the business and radically transform the competitive landscape in the AI chip sector both in the U.S. and globally, particularly with regard to China, he added.

“Jensen is at the heart of Nvidia’s DNA, and its success and ambitions in the field of AI depend directly on whether he remains as CEO,” Ives said. According to him, there is no one else on the management team who could seamlessly take over as CEO. “This points to the existing risk of irreplaceability of a key figure at Nvidia, which investors will now factor into the stock price,” he concluded.

The most common analyst recommendation for Nvidia stock is “buy” (69 out of 73). Three analysts advise holding the stock in a portfolio. A month ago, there were only two such recommendations. Only one analyst advises selling.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor