Despite publicly praising Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) historic performance and the broader artificial intelligence (AI) sector, billionaire investor Dan Loeb's latest 13F filing reveals that his hedge fund, Third Point LLC, dumped nearly 90% of its stake in the semiconductor giant during the first quarter of 2026.
The ‘Monster Quarter’ Disconnect
Nvidia recently reported first-quarter revenue of $81.6 billion, an 85% year-over-year increase. CEO Jensen Huang touted the ongoing “buildout of AI factories” as “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history,” confidently declaring that “Agentic AI has arrived.”
Loeb seemingly agreed with this bullish sentiment in a recent podcast called ‘Invest Like The Best.’ He noted that unless investors expect the AI boom to “roll over,” semiconductors remain “the most attractive sector right now.”
Reflecting on historical price action, Loeb pointed out that Nvidia previously “had this monster quarter [and] people piled on.” Yet, Third Point’s trading activity tells a completely different story.
A Sweeping Portfolio Overhaul
According to the latest SEC filings, Third Point drastically reduced its Nvidia holdings from about 2.95 million shares in the fourth quarter, down to just 190,000 shares by the end of March 2026.
This massive first-quarter sell-off was part of a much broader portfolio overhaul. Loeb completely exited his positions in Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR (NYSE:BABA), while significantly slashing stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) and legacy rail stocks like Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP).
Conversely, the fund pivoted toward other tech players, snapping up 175,000 shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) and 90,000 shares of Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META).
Navigating High Expectations
Nvidia's recent earnings report was highlighted by an $80 billion share buyback authorization and a dividend increase to 25 cents per share, with Data Center compute revenue hitting a record $60 billion.
However, Loeb's strategy suggests a highly tactical retreat to lock in profits. He previously cautioned about the psychological pitfalls of investing when “expectations were too high.”
For fundamental investors, Loeb noted, the key to survival is the ability to make “tough trading decisions when fundamentals are going one way and stock prices are going the other way.”
How Has NVDA Performed In 2026?
In comparison with the Nasdaq 100’s 21.06% year-to-date advance, shares of NVDA have advanced by 20.30% over the same period. It closed 6.26% higher at $224.36 apiece on Monday, and it was up 1.24% in premarket on Tuesday.
Over the last month, NVDA stock was up 13.06%, and it rose 24.70% and 66.03% over the last six months and the year, respectively. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NVDA maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium, and short terms, with a poor value ranking.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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