Trader nets $196m shorting Nvidia before CEO scandal
A mystery trader made $196 million by shorting Nvidia stock before CEO Jensen Huang's resignation following an affair scandal with an alleged Chinese spy. The bet was placed on October 12, a month before the revelations emerged. The trader bought put contracts guaranteeing a sale price of $150 per share, which rose in value as the stock fell. They funded the position by selling cheaper contracts pledging to buy shares at $100 if the price dropped below that level. Joseph Niles of Macro Risk Advisors calculated the profit. London-listed trading platforms like IG Group, CMC Markets, and Plus500 saw share gains amid the volatility. Culper Research had warned of Huang's relationship with Alice Huang months earlier, citing Nvidia's "significant China problem" in a May report.