Ken Griffin Sold Half His Stake in AI Stock Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and Bought This Stock-Split Stock Instead

Ken Griffin has been outspoken about the potential for generative AI. "This branch of AI will be game-changing for the economy," he said

Ken Griffin, the billionaire investor behind Citadel, made some noteworthy adjustments to his portfolio in the third quarter of 2023. Among his key moves were reducing his stake in AI stock Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and increasing his holdings in another AI stock-split stock. Let's take a closer look at these transactions and what they might mean for investors.

Griffin sells Broadcom stakeBroadcom is undeniably one of the gatekeepers in the AI ecosystem. The company provides a vast array of products that are utilized in the cable, mobile, broadband, and data center industries. According to Broadcom, "99% of all internet traffic crosses through some type of Broadcom technology," rendering it a pivotal provider of the tech required to facilitate AI.

In its fiscal third quarter, which ended Aug. 4, Broadcom's revenue surged by 47% year over year to reach $13.1 billion, while its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 18% to hit $1.24. Furthermore, management anticipates continuing its growth streak and has raised its full-year revenue projection to $51.5 billion, which would equate to an impressive growth of 44%.

These stellar results help illustrate why Broadcom stock is up 64% over the past year and an astonishing 188% over the past three years (at the time of this writing). The stock has performed so well, in fact, that management instituted a 10-for-1 stock split, which was completed on July 15.

Wall Street is nearly unanimous in its opinion of Broadcom. Out of the 42 analysts who cover the stock, 37 rate it a buy or strong buy, and none recommend selling.

Given this backdrop, it's particularly noteworthy that, during the third quarter, Griffin sold more than 3.1 million shares of Broadcom -- roughly 64% of Citadel's stake in it. He still holds 1.72 million shares valued at about $296 million. At the same time, he was making a substantial purchase of another AI stock -- Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Griffin increases Nvidia stakeIt's evident that Griffin found Nvidia to be an alluring opportunity in the last quarter. The billionaire investor increased Citadel's stake by more than 7 million shares, marking an increase of 454%. This brought his total stake to 712 million shares, valued at $865 million, making Nvidia the second-largest individual stock holding among the thousands of stocks in Citadel's portfolio.

Nvidia has emerged as the poster child for the AI revolution, largely due to the fact that its graphics processing units (GPUs) are the most widely used hardware for providing the computational horsepower needed to train and run AI models. This has sparked a high demand for the company's state-of-the-art processors, which have become the gold standard for data centers, where most AI processing takes place.

The unprecedented demand has had an undeniable impact on Nvidia's financial results. During its fiscal 2025 third quarter, which ended Oct. 27, Nvidia's revenue soared by 94% year over year to reach $35 billion, while its adjusted EPS surged by 103% to hit $0.81. Management left no doubt about what drove these stellar results. "The age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing," said CEO Jensen Huang.

These results help explain why Nvidia stock is up 196% over the past year and an impressive 342% over the past three years (as of this writing). The company's unbridled success led management to initiate a 10-for-1 stock split, which was completed on June 10.

Broadcom isn't the only AI stock-split stock that Wall Street is nearly unanimous about. Of the 64 analysts who have offered an opinion on Nvidia, 60 rate the stock a buy or strong buy, and none recommend selling.

We don't know exactly when during the third quarter that Griffin added to his stake in Nvidia, but a quick glance at the stock chart might provide some insight. In mid-June, rumors about a potential delay in the release of the company's highly anticipated Blackwell processors sent the stock tumbling, and by early August, Nvidia had shed 27% of its value. It's likely that Griffin saw a bargain he couldn't resist.

As it turns out, Griffin probably didn't have any inside information that Wall Street didn't. He simply observed a compelling opportunity and acted upon it. Should retail investors follow his lead now?

Nvidia stock currently trades for 69 times earnings, but that P/E metric doesn't take into account the company's above-average growth. Wall