Dell Soars 16%, Nvidia Defies $1.1B Insider Selloff as Futures Rise
Analysis
US equity futures pointed higher Thursday as investors shrugged off renewed Middle East tensions and turned to the earnings calendar, with Broadcom (AVGO), Snowflake (SNOW), Dell (DELL) and HPE in focus ahead of reports. Crude pulled back with WTI (CL=F) and Brent (LCO) easing, taking some pressure off the inflation picture, while President Trump's renewed jabs at the Fed — claiming Kevin Warsh will 'do what he has to do' on interest rates — drew little follow-through in the tape. Nvidia (NVDA) led the volume board at roughly 157M shares, gaining 3.21% to $224.41 even as headlines flagged $1.09B of insider selling in a single SEC filing plus a separate $6.5M insider sale. The tape was sharply two-sided. Dell (DELL) jumped 15.81% to $492.20 on 36.7M shares, extending its Wednesday post-earnings surge, while PFE, GTLB and ConocoPhillips (COP) all printed new 52-week highs and Sandisk (SNDK) extended its 29% August rally alongside Micron (MU) after industry executives — including Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Andy Jassy and Jensen Huang — reiterated memory-tightness warnings. Small caps capped the board, with MNTK leading gainers at +21.02% to $2.13 and CABO +19.44% to $28.51. On the downside, Amphenol (APH) cratered 50.95% to $80.04 with no earnings headline in today's wires, Credo (CRDO) fell 20.04% to $165.22 and sat on its worst week in two years as analysts questioned whether its optical-interconnect growth can keep pace, and software names bled: MongoDB (MDB) -13.54% to $375.40, FuelCell Energy (FCEL) -15.69% to $14.40, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) -9.28% to $328.48. Also notable: Diversified Energy (DEC) agreed to acquire Birch Permian in a $1.8B deal. The undercurrent remained skepticism about AI valuations. Michael Burry, the 'Big Short' investor, called Palantir (PLTR) an 'AI FOMO' consultant and warned its market cap could crash below $100B, while Broadcom (AVGO) posted AI revenue up 221% with profits tripled yet the stock sat flat — a reminder the market is pricing perfection. Alphabet (GOOGL) is defending its capex bet with Google Cloud growing 82% year over year, and China's Kimi K3 operator Moonshot reportedly filed for a Hong Kong IPO, adding another competitive front for OpenAI and Anthropic. The technical board leaned firmly bearish: 43 bearish signals versus just 5 bullish across 2,595 symbols scanned, with Atlassian (TEAM) at $186.44 and Moderna (MRNA) at $150.81 flagged overbought and TrueCar (TPC) at $87.78 flagged for potential overextension — so today's rally is being carried by earnings evidence, not breadth.
Highlights
- Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose as investors shrugged off Middle East/Iran tensions; WTI (CL=F) and Brent (LCO) pulled back
- Dell (DELL) +15.81% to $492.20 on 36.7M shares; PFE, GTLB and COP printed new 52-week highs
- Nvidia (NVDA) +3.21% to $224.41 on the heaviest volume of the day (~157M shares); Sandisk (SNDK) extended its 29% August run alongside Micron (MU)
Lowlights
- Amphenol (APH) cratered 50.95% to $80.04 — the steepest drop of the day with no earnings headline in today's wires; Credo (CRDO) -20.04% to $165.22, sitting on its worst week in two years
- Software and clean-energy weakness: MongoDB (MDB) -13.54% to $375.40, FuelCell Energy (FCEL) -15.69% to $14.40, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) -9.28% to $328.48
- Technical scans skewed bearish: 43 bearish signals vs 5 bullish across 2,595 symbols, with overbought flags on TEAM ($186.44) and MRNA ($150.81)
Bull News
- Futures bid across the board as WTI (CL=F) and Brent (LCO) pull back, easing inflation worries; AVGO, SNOW, DELL and HPE in focus into earnings
- Broadcom (AVGO) AI revenue +221% with profits tripled; Alphabet (GOOGL) Google Cloud +82% YoY; Kroger (KR) taps Mark Ibbotson to drive its store and digital shift
- Memory strength continues: Sandisk (SNDK) +29% in August with Micron (MU) in tow; Diversified Energy (DEC) acquires Birch Permian in a $1.8B deal
Bear News
- Nvidia (NVDA) insider selling hit $1.09B in a single SEC filing (plus a further $6.5M sale); a Microsoft (MSFT) insider sold $43.4M of stock
- Michael Burry: Palantir (PLTR) is an 'AI FOMO' consultant whose market cap could crash below $100B
- AI-trade froth in focus: circular-financing scrutiny at CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius Group (NBIS), Accenture (ACN) 'stretched' after a 39% five-year slump
The tape on Sept. 3 is an earnings-driven rally wearing a geopolitical shrug: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose as oil (CL=F, LCO) pulled back, and quality names did the lifting — DELL +15.81% to $492.20, NVDA +3.21% to $224.41 on ~157M shares, PFE/GTLB/COP at 52-week highs — while the breadth was ugly: APH -50.95% to $80.04 with no headline to explain it, CRDO -20.04% in a potential worst week in two years, MDB -13.54%, PANW -9.28%, and 43 bearish technical signals versus just 5 bullish across 2,595 symbols with TEAM ($186.44) and MRNA ($150.81) flagged overbought. The AI debate is splitting into evidence and narrative — AVGO's 221% AI revenue growth and GOOGL's 82% cloud growth on one side; Burry's sub-$100B PLTR warning, $1.09B of NVDA insider supply and CRDO's optical-growth doubts on the other. Constructive but selective: own earnings-proven megacaps and memory (DELL, NVDA, MU, SNDK), stay hedged into overbought momentum names, and keep an eye on Iran headlines and Fed chatter as the week deepens.