Nvidia short sellers have raked in nearly $5 billion in paper profits from the AI chip designer's sharp selloff over the past three sessions, according to data analytics firm Ortex Technologies.

The stock has slumped 13% and lost $430 billion in market capitalization since June 18, when it briefly became the world's most valuable company following a meteoric rise.

Short sellers made $2.40 billion off Nvidia's 6.6% fall on Monday, Ortex said, the highest one-day gain since the start of their data in 2019.

Some market participants have attributed Nvidia's pullback to investors rotating out of high-flying AI stocks and into other sectors as 2024 approaches the half-way mark.

Despite recent declines, optimism around Nvidia's role in powering the artificial intelligence boom has driven the stock up 145% this year, the second-best performer on the S&P 500.

  - Reuters