Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reportedly purchased up to $5 million worth of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares. Also, tomorrow the Senate is expected to vote on the CHIPS Act, which would involve federal investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry. This legislation stands to benefit Nvidia and other U.S. chipmakers, and NVDA stock is heading higher today.
When a high-level politician buys stock shares of a company in anticipation of legislation, this often sparks a fierce debate. What about when a politician’s spouse buys the shares, though? The debate might get more complicated, but it won’t necessarily stop traders from bidding the stock up.
Such is the case today, it seems, with NVDA stock. As early as tomorrow, senators are expected to convene to vote on a highly publicized spending bill. It would earmark $52 billion in support of domestic semiconductor production. This, naturally, would benefit U.S. microchip makers like Nvidia.
Yet, there may be some controversy mixed in with the excitement on Wall Street. To quote government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman: “It certainly raises the specter that Paul Pelosi could have access to some insider legislative information.”
Paul Pelosi’s Controversial NVDA Stock Purchase
So, here’s the scoop. Apparently, Paul Pelosi recently exercised 200 Nvidia call options. Consequently, he reportedly bought 20,000 shares of NVDA stock, for a total value of $1 million to $5 million. This information comes via disclosure reports filed by Nancy Pelosi.
It’s not hard to connect the dots between the potential passage of the aforementioned $52 billion bill and the possible benefits for Nvidia. Hence, today’s 5% bump in the Nvidia share price makes sense.
Less clear is how the public will interpret Paul Pelosi’s large position in NVDA stock.
Today’s events may spark a debate over political spouses buying assets in anticipation of legislation. For today at least, however, Nvidia is heavily favored on Wall Street and the shares are definitely in the green.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
