Key Takeaways
- GF Securities launched coverage of CoreWeave (CRWV) Thursday with a Buy rating and $162 price target.
- Shares advanced 4% in premarket trading after the positive analyst call.
- The firm highlighted CoreWeave’s GPU infrastructure leadership, AI-focused strategy, and major hyperscaler partnerships.
- Worldwide AI data center capacity is projected to expand to 283 GW by 2030 from approximately 122 GW in 2025.
- Leading institutional investors such as Vanguard and Invesco have significantly expanded their CRWV holdings.
CoreWeave (CRWV) received a significant endorsement Thursday morning as GF Securities launched research coverage with a Buy recommendation and set a $162 price objective. Shares responded with a 4% gain during premarket hours.
CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV
Michelle Jing, analyst at GF Securities, characterized CoreWeave as a “long-term winner in the AI infra boom,” emphasizing its pioneering role in GPU infrastructure and dedicated concentration on artificial intelligence applications.
CRWV began Thursday’s session at $101.28. The shares trade within a 52-week band of $63.80 to $187.00 and carry a market capitalization of approximately $45.3 billion.
Jing outlined four primary drivers behind her bullish outlook: rising demand for AI infrastructure projects, a substantial contract backlog supporting revenue visibility through 2027, improving debt financing conditions, and anticipated sharp profitability improvements as major contracts reach maturity. Her model projects the company turning profitable by 2028.
The analyst also addressed the wider opportunity for next-generation cloud providers. Worldwide AI data center capacity is anticipated to more than double from roughly 122 GW in 2025 to 283 GW by decade’s end, fueled by expansion from leading cloud platforms and organizations like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“After incorporating demand from enterprises and sovereign AI projects, we estimate the remaining addressable market represents a ~$1.7tn TAM for neocloud providers from 2026–2030,” Jing stated.
Institutional Investors Loading Up
The GF Securities coverage arrives as institutional capital continues flowing into the stock. Vanguard expanded its CoreWeave holdings by 275.6% during Q4, elevating its position to almost 28 million shares valued at roughly $2 billion.
Proficio Capital Partners and Invesco executed substantial transactions as well, with Proficio expanding its stake by more than 446,000% in Q3 and Invesco climbing over 55,000%. Both increases primarily represented the establishment of new or significantly enlarged positions.
DNB Asset Management initiated a modest position in Q4, acquiring 32,849 shares worth approximately $2.35 million.
Wall Street Divided on Outlook
Analyst sentiment on CRWV remains split. Among 33 analysts tracking the stock, 19 maintain Buy ratings, 12 recommend Hold, and two rate it Sell. The consensus price target stands at $129.63.
Citigroup lifted its target from $155 to $158 last week while maintaining Buy. JPMorgan adjusted its target upward from $90 to $105 but kept a Neutral stance. DA Davidson, conversely, reduced its target to $100 from $175 while staying Neutral.
Sanford C. Bernstein maintains the Street’s most pessimistic view with an Underperform rating and $67 price target.
On the risk side, several concerns are garnering attention from analysts and shareholders. A recently announced Blackstone-Google AI collaboration is viewed as potential competition. DA Davidson has expressed worries about valuation levels, debt load, and expanding losses.
CoreWeave delivered revenue of $1.57 billion in its latest quarter, representing 110.4% year-over-year growth. However, the company fell short on earnings, reporting a loss of $0.89 per share versus the -$0.61 consensus estimate. Wall Street’s collective forecast calls for a full-year loss of $4.15 per share.
In related activity, significant shareholder Magnetar Financial divested 159,168 CRWV shares on May 7 at an average price of $129.91, trimming its position by 19.09%. COO Sachin Jain sold 14,750 shares on May 8 at $118.61 in a transaction connected to tax obligations from vesting equity compensation.
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