Dell Stock Slides 2% as Executives Cash Out Millions

TLDR

• Dell Technologies stock dropped 2% on Thursday to around $536.59 after a wave of insider selling.
• Four top executives sold roughly $31.7 million in stock during September.
• CFO David Kennedy and General Counsel Richard Rothberg together sold more than $15 million on September 17.
• The sales come despite Dell stock climbing 17% since the start of the month.
• Dell’s AI server backlog has grown to $95 billion, up from $51.3 billion a year ago.

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Dell Technologies stock fell 2% on Thursday, trading as low as $530.45 before settling around $536.59. The drop followed a string of insider stock sales disclosed in SEC filings this month.

Dell Technologies Inc., DELL

Four executives sold a combined $31.7 million worth of stock in September. That includes CFO David Kennedy, General Counsel Richard Rothberg, Chief Human Resources Officer Jennifer Saavedra, and Chief Marketing Officer Geraldine Tunnell.

Kennedy sold 23,896 shares on September 17 for about $13.5 million, at prices between $584.73 and $586.08. Rothberg sold 4,000 shares the same day for $2.3 million.

Earlier in the month, Saavedra sold 25,251 shares at $520 each, worth $13.1 million. Tunnell sold 5,436 shares at $523.52 apiece, or $2.8 million.

Directors have also been selling. Lynn Vojvodich Radakovich sold 2,022 shares on September 22 at an average of $565.28. Silver Lake Partners IV sold 7,994 shares the day before at $569.77 each.

Most of these trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Dell did not respond to a request for comment.

What the Numbers Show

Together, the reported sales account for less than 1% of Dell’s more than 315 million outstanding stock. That’s a small slice of the company’s total ownership.

The selling comes even as Dell’s stock has outperformed the broader market this month. It’s up 17% since September began, compared to a 3.5% gain for the Nasdaq 100 and 0.4% for the S&P 500.

Dell’s momentum traces back to its September 2 earnings report. Revenue from its AI server business doubled compared to a year earlier.

The company’s backlog, meaning orders not yet turned into revenue, jumped to $95 billion from $51.3 billion. Quarterly revenue rose 57.7% year over year to $46.97 billion, and adjusted earnings of $7.04 per share beat estimates of $4.91.

AI orders for the quarter reached approximately $60.9 billion. Dell also raised its full-year guidance following the report.

Analyst Views and Price Targets

Wall Street’s response has mostly stayed positive. Truist Financial raised its target price to $505 while keeping a hold rating.

Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $511 with an equal-weight rating. US Capital Advisors set a target of $625.

Of the analysts tracking Dell, one rates it Strong Buy, twenty-six rate it Buy, and nine rate it Hold. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $567.12.

Not everyone is fully convinced the rally can continue without pause. UBS recently reversed its 2027 PC outlook from growth to decline, pointing to a possible headwind for Dell’s traditional computer business.

Rising bond yields have also made investors more cautious about high-growth technology names generally. That combination has some watching whether Dell’s valuation, near a 52-week high, has room to keep climbing.

Dell’s 50-day moving average sits at $472.07, and its 200-day average is $348.63. The market capitalization stands at $341.17 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14.

The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, payable October 30 to investors of record as of October 20. That comes out to a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%.

Institutional investors currently hold 76.37% of Dell’s stock, with several funds increasing their positions in the second quarter.