Jul 18, 2022
If Keith Gill, wallstreetbets, and GameStop are names that excite you in the investing world, there’s one more you may want to add to your watch list: Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi is one of the most prominent figures in U.S. politics, currently serving as the Speaker of the House. But the 82-year-old — alongside her venture capitalist husband Paul who does most of the trading — also loves participating in the stock market.
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While politicians can’t predict the future of the market, they are connected to the country’s economic movers and shakers. They also have access to a wealth of first-hand information that investors would die for — so looking into their trades may provide valuable insight.
According to a new congressional financial disclosure, the Pelosis made three recent trades — including one that likely resulted in a seven-figure profit.
Here’s a closer look at them.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Speaking of year-to-date performance, Nvidia stands out — although not in a good way.
As a leading manufacturer of graphics cards, Nvidia shares have had a solid bull run over the past decade. But that rally came to an abrupt stop towards the end of 2021. In 2022, the stock has fallen about 47%.
Nvidia’s plunge is substantial even when compared to other beaten-down stocks in the semiconductor sector.
The business, though, is doing well, making the stock a particularly intriguing contrarian idea. The chipmaker generated $8.29 billion of revenue in its fiscal Q1.
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On June 17, Paul Pelosi exercised 200 call options on Nvidia (that were expiring on June 17) at a strike price of $100, valued at between $1 million and $5 million.
The transaction comes at an interesting time. The Senate is expected to vote on a bipartisan competition bill that includes a $52 billion subsidy for domestic chipmakers. Voting could begin as early as Tuesday.
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Visa (V)
The disclosure shows that Paul Pelosi sold 10,000 shares of Visa on June 21 worth between $1 million and $5 million.
The Pelosis are no stranger to the credit card giant. In 2011, it was reported that they participated in Visa’s initial public offering in 2008. Back then, the power couple were able to purchase 5,000 shares of Visa at the IPO price of $44.
Visa conducted a four-for-one stock split in March 2015, so its IPO price on a split adjusted basis was $11.
Now, Visa shares traded at between $193.73 and $196.73 on June 21. If Paul sold the 10,000 shares at the day’s low of $193.73, he would have received $1,937,300 from the transaction. If those were the shares bought at the company’s IPO, their cost basis would be $110,000 (10,000 shares times $11 per share), and the couple would have made a handsome profit of $1,827,300.
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In 2022, Visa shares slipped around 5% — not a stellar performer, but still better than the S&P 500’s double-digit decline in the same period.
Apple (AAPL)
It’s easy to see why Apple could be special: No one who spends $1,600 for a fully decked-out iPhone 13 Pro Max would call it a steal, but numerous consumers love splurging on Apple products anyway.
Earlier last year, management revealed that the company’s active installed base of hardware has surpassed 1.65 billion devices, including over 1 billion iPhones.
Today, Apple is a tech behemoth commanding around $2.4 billion of market cap.
The business is also growing. In the March quarter, the company’s total revenue increased 9% year over year with services revenue soaring to a new all-time high.
The stock, however, is not immune to the market sell-off and is down 17% year to date.
On June 17, Paul Pelosi sold 50 call options on Apple (that were expiring on June 17) with a strike price of $100 valued at between $100,000 and $250,000.
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Jing is an investment reporter for MoneyWise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
