Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been one of the most high-profile members of Congress when it comes to buying and selling stocks and options during her time in public office. A recent transaction by her husband Paul Pelosi faced public scrutiny and may have influenced a recent sale.
What Happened: Pelosi announced the sale of a portion of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares in a filing.
As reported by Congresstrading, Pelosi and her husband sold 25,000 shares of NVIDIA Corporation on July 26 valued between $1 million and $5 million.
In the comment line of the filing, Pelosi said the shares were sold at an average price of $165.05 for a loss of $341,365.
The sale by Pelosi comes after public scrutiny over exercising calls of the leading semiconductor stock done ahead of a vote on the CHIPS Act by Congress, which Pelosi publicly supported. The CHIPS Act could directly benefit NVIDIA Corporation.
“I think this comes in response to public pressure and the conflict of interest her stock position posed,” the founder of Congresstrading.com, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of his site, told Benzinga.
The trade could be labeled as insider trading, with her husband getting knowledge of the progress of the CHIPS Act prior to the transaction. The sale by Pelosi comes days after it was announced a former Congressman was charged by the SEC for insider trading.
“It is surprising to see the sale. Also, what’s surprising here is that she sold and reported one day later. Usually she takes a couple of weeks. She wanted the public to know she cleared her books of this conflict of interest immediately.”
Congresstrading also noted Pelosi’s filings typically come on Fridays, when the media may potentially bury the story over the weekend.
Related Link: Congresstrading Highlights Changes That Could Help, Pelosi's New Trade And Crypto Disclosures
Why It’s Important: The recent call option exercise by Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist, faced scrutiny by the public and also drew the attention of Michael Burry and Edward Snowden.
Pelosi was asked at a press conference about her husband’s stock and option activity recently.
“Has your husband ever made a stock purchase or sale based on info received from you?” a reporter asked the Speaker of the House.
Pelosi responded “No, absolutely not” and then left the podium and ended the questions.
The Nancy Pelosi Tracker on Twitter, which shares transactions by the Speaker of the House, noted the transaction history of NVIDIA Corporation by the Pelosis dates back to May 2021. According to the account, the Pelosis still own 50 options on NVIDIA Corporation with a strike price of $100 and expiration of Sep. 16, 2022 that were purchased back on July 23, 2021.
Pelosi remains one of the most active filers of stock transactions in Congress due to her husband being a venture capitalist.
Transactions in big technology stocks like NVIDIA, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) have been favorites of Pelosi over the last two years. An investment in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) ahead of clean energy initiatives and electric vehicle tax credits previously drew scrutiny.
An investment in the Visa Inc (NYSE:V) IPO and the credit card company’s attempt to influence the Congresswoman has also been a story over the years.
The Pelosis recently sold 5,000 shares of Visa that were acquired at the IPO price and netted a profit of $1,827,300.
NVDA Price Action: NVIDIA shares are up 5% to $173.40 on Wednesday.
Photo: Creates with images from Financial Times and Gage Skidmore on Flickr
