NVDA Stock On Track To Hit Lowest Level In Over A Year: Dan Ives Values Nvidia At $225 Without Jensen Huang

• William Blair downgraded Nvidia to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’, citing Huang’s likely departure and heightened scrutiny as “a significant overhang” on the shares.
• Citi and Stifel lowered their price targets on NVDA stock to $225 and $205, respectively.
• Morningstar maintained its $310 fair value estimate, stating its financial forecasts remained unchanged despite the reports.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell in pre-market trade on Thursday, on track for an over-one-year low, after reports of a potential Jensen Huang ouster and a second alleged affair triggered fresh downgrades by Wall Street and a reassessment of the chipmaker's leadership risk.

Dan Ives, Yorkville Ives senior managing director and partner, said in a post on X that Nvidia’s stock would be worth $225 without Huang and $300 with him as CEO. William Blair downgraded the stock, while Citi and Stifel cut their price targets. UBS, Raymond James and Morningstar kept their positive views.

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NVDA stock fell more than 6% in pre-market trade, on track to hit lows last seen in July 2025. 

Dan Ives Expects Nvidia Board To Remove Jensen Huang

The New York Times reported late on Wednesday that Huang had a second extramarital relationship with an executive at Nvidia. The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that Nvidia's board was preparing to oust him.

Ives said he now expects the board to take action against Huang. “We expect Jensen to be removed as CEO of Nvidia at this point and it’s in the Board’s hands,” he wrote on X. He added that NVDA stock would now trade on the assumption that Huang was leaving.

“In our view writing is on the wall that Jensen’s days at Nvidia could be numbered and we would expect this to be a very fluid situation over the next 48 hours. Jensen has created a black eye moment for himself and Nvidia and now has created a spider web of complexity,” Ives wrote.

William Blair Downgrades Nvidia: Citi, Stifel Cut Price Targets

According to TheFly, William Blair downgraded Nvidia to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ and dropped its price target. The firm said Huang's potential departure and the additional scrutiny facing the company “will be a significant overhang” on the shares in the near term.

The analyst also flagged the possibility of a slower AI infrastructure buildout and increased competition from other chipmakers. He added that governance and regulatory pressure, the potential for further fallout and an abrupt management change “are likely to muddle both execution and sentiment.”

Meanwhile, Citi lowered its price target on Nvidia to $225 from $285 while maintaining its ‘Buy’ rating. The firm said a leadership transition would weigh on the stock and suggested CFO Colette Kress could serve as interim CEO while the board considers external candidates.

Stifel also cut its price target to $205 from $315 but maintained its ‘Buy’ rating. The firm now considers a leadership transition its base case for Nvidia. The firm said the company's fundamentals were not the primary concern, but its valuation multiple could come under pressure. 

It added that with no successor publicly identified, investors should focus on who takes over and when, the retention of senior executives, and the company's distribution-channel and export-compliance posture.

Raymond James, Morningstar Maintain Bullish Nvidia Views

Not all analysts expect the leadership uncertainty to undermine Nvidia's longer-term prospects.

Raymond James maintained its ‘Strong Buy’ rating ahead of the company's earnings report next week. The analyst acknowledged Huang's importance to Nvidia, calling him a standout CEO closely associated with the company's success. However, the firm stated that Nvidia was “more than just its CEO” and remains a central player in the AI industry.

Morningstar also maintained its $310 fair value estimate. Analyst Brian Colello said the firm was “stunned and disappointed” by the reports but had not changed its financial forecasts for Nvidia.

Colello said the shares looked “fundamentally undervalued.” He also identified Ian Buck, who leads Nvidia's hyperscale and high-performance computing business, as the “logical successor.”

Meanwhile, UBS kept its ‘Buy’ rating and $300 price target. The firm said Nvidia would likely find a strong candidate to lead it, but that Huang has “been a singular force” in many ways, so the impact will “likely be felt far and wide.”

UBS also warned that the U.S. government could put tighter limits on Nvidia’s ability to ship products to China and to other places such as Singapore and Malaysia.

How Is Retail Feeling About NVDA Stock?

Nvidia was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around the shares trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory, accompanied by ‘extremely high’ levels of chatter. Platform data showed an over 70% uptick in message volume.

Retail traders on Stocktwits debated whether the controversy around Huang was a serious governance risk that could cost the CEO his job or if his leadership is crucial and Nvidia’s business remains intact.

NVDA stock is down 8% for the year, not accounting for the premarket dip. 

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