Aug 29 (Reuters) - Interest in leveraged exchange-traded

funds that allow investors to profit when shares of Nvidia ( NVDA )

fall grew steadily ahead of the chipmaker's quarterly

results, according to data from some of the companies that

issued the products.

Nvidia ( NVDA ), which in June eclipsed Microsoft ( MSFT ) as the

world's most valuable company, dominates the major stock

indexes, making its quarterly results an increasingly

high-stakes market event.

In a sign of investor anxiety about Nvidia's ( NVDA ) ability to beat

mounting earnings expectations, the number of shares outstanding

in leveraged inverse ETFs that offer a bearish view on the

chipmaker grew far more rapidly in recent months than those

offering leveraged bullish exposure, issuer data shows.

These bearish products are structured to deliver daily

returns twice the size of any loss in Nvidia ( NVDA ) itself, while the

bullish ETFs use derivatives to double any daily gain.

"You can read into that data the changing sentiment about

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) outlook," said Will Rhind, CEO of GraniteShares. "As

Nvidia ( NVDA ) becomes more volatile, we seem to be witnessing greater

interest in taking a position in the bear ETF."

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) stock dropped after its quarterly forecast failed

to meet investors' lofty expectations.

The number of shares outstanding in the GraniteShares 2x

Short NVDA Daily ETF soared 446% between May 21 - just

before Nvidia ( NVDA ) released its previous quarterly earnings - and

Wednesday, when the chipmaker issued its most recent results.

That compares to a gain in shares outstanding of only 85%

for its bull leveraged product, the GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA

Daily ETF.

The discrepancy is even more pronounced in similar ETFs

issued by REX Shares and Tuttle Capital Management. The number

of shares outstanding in the T-Rex 2x Inverse Nvidia Daily ETF

has increased tenfold since Nvidia's ( NVDA ) May earnings

report.

Leveraged ETFs tied to other widely-traded stocks such as

Alphabet and Microsoft ( MSFT ) also exist, but the largest and

most active are based on Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Tesla, reflecting

the high profile and volatility of both companies' shares.

Some new investors drawn to the leveraged bearish ETFs may

be worried about volatility in Nvidia ( NVDA ) itself as each earnings

report drives expectations higher, said Scott Acheychek, chief

operating officer of REX Financial. Others see the ETFs as a way

to hedge underlying long positions or manage tax obligations.

To be sure, the bullish products still dominate leveraged

Nvidia ETFs in size and growth as measured by dollar value. The

GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF has $6 billion in assets

and has attracted $2.95 billion of inflows in the last three

months, according to data from VettaFi.

Its 2x bearish ETF, in spite of the dramatic relative

growth, boasts only $69 million in assets, although it attracted

$63 million in inflows in the last three months.