(March 7): Two Nvidia Corp directors sold about US$180 million (RM846.9 million) in shares of the chipmaker in recent days, becoming the latest insiders to cash in as the stock continues to push deeper into record territory.

Tench Coxe, a former managing director at venture capital firm Sutter Hill Ventures who has been on Nvidia’s board since 1993, sold 200,000 shares on March 5 at US$850.03 to US$852.50, according to a filing. Coxe still holds more than 3.7 million shares.

Mark Stevens, a director since 2008, sold 12,000 shares on March 4 at US$852.06 to US$855.02.

The sales come amid a blistering rally for Nvidia that’s seen the stock soar 79% this year on optimism that brisk sales of its chips used for artificial intelligence computing will continue unabated. Nvidia closed at another record on Wednesday as it extended its win streak to a fifth day, and now boasts a market value of US$2.2 trillion, trailing only Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc in the S&P 500 Index.

Last month, other directors unloaded 99,000 shares after Nvidia’s blowout earnings report. The shares sold were worth about US$80 million at the time. Shares in the chipmaker were up 1.2% in premarket trading on Thursday.