Bank of America has pulled Nvidia from its US 1 List, the bank’s short roster of best stock ideas. The cut came days after CEO Jensen Huang admitted an affair with a woman US intelligence reportedly suspected of spying for China.
The bank declined to explain. Nvidia keeps its Buy rating. However, the chipmaker sits in most US index funds, so its slide reaches ordinary savers, not just traders.
Did Bank of America Punish Nvidia Over the Huang Scandal?
Nvidia did not leave alone. Bank of America also dropped Micron, a memory chip maker, and Lam Research, which builds chipmaking machines. Neither company has any tie to Huang.
All three keep their Buy ratings.
The three stocks also moved in opposite directions Monday. Nvidia fell more than 4% as its board probed Huang, while Micron and Lam Research climbed.
So the bank cut one scandal-hit stock and two rising ones in the same move. No research note explaining it was released, ROIC reported.
What Does Losing a Top-Pick Slot Mean for Nvidia Shareholders?
A Buy rating means the bank expects the stock to rise. A US 1 slot marks one of its strongest convictions. Nvidia lost the latter.
The bank has reshuffled this way before. In February, it added Lam to the list and removed AMD, which kept its Buy rating.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Bernstein reaffirmed its outperform rating on Nvidia on November 9.
Meanwhile, Nvidia entered a bear market Monday, trading about 26% below its October record.
Bank of America’s chip analyst, Vivek Arya, has tied the sector’s gains to artificial intelligence (AI) spending.
“We continue to view AI/data center to drive the majority of gains.”
Huang faces a November 11 deadline to tell Congress whether he will brief lawmakers. Nvidia reports earnings on November 17, a day before the proposed closed-door briefing.
Nvidia now holds a split verdict from Bank of America. The bank still rates it a Buy. It just no longer ranks it among its best ideas.
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