CoreWeave (CRWV) Stock Surges 4% on GF Securities’ Bullish AI Infrastructure Call

Key Takeaways

• GF Securities launched coverage of CoreWeave (CRWV) on Thursday with a Buy rating and $162 price target.
• Shares climbed 4% in premarket hours following the bullish analyst call.
• The firm highlighted CoreWeave’s GPU infrastructure leadership, AI-exclusive strategy, and multi-year contracts with hyperscale clients.
• AI data center capacity worldwide is projected to grow from approximately 122 GW in 2025 to 283 GW by 2030.
• Institutional heavyweights like Vanguard and Invesco have significantly expanded their CRWV holdings in recent months.

CoreWeave (CRWV) received a notable boost Thursday morning after GF Securities launched coverage with a Buy recommendation and set a price target of $162. Shares responded with a 4% gain in premarket activity.

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,” highlighting the company’s early leadership in GPU infrastructure and dedicated emphasis on artificial intelligence applications.

CRWV started Thursday’s session at $101.28. The shares trade within a 52-week band of $63.80 to $187.00 and carry a market valuation near $45.3 billion.

Jing outlined four pillars supporting her positive stance: growing appetite for AI infrastructure investment, a robust contract pipeline supporting revenue visibility through 2027, improved debt financing conditions, and anticipated sharp profitability improvement as major agreements reach maturity. Her model forecasts the company turning profitable by 2028.

The analyst also emphasized opportunities for emerging cloud providers. Worldwide AI data center power capacity is set to expand more than twofold from roughly 122 GW this year to 283 GW by decade’s end, fueled by infrastructure investments from leading cloud platforms and AI pioneers like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Large Investors Building Positions

The positive GF Securities assessment arrives amid growing institutional interest. Vanguard expanded its CoreWeave ownership by 275.6% during the fourth quarter, accumulating close to 28 million shares valued around $2 billion.

Proficio Capital Partners and Invesco executed substantial position increases as well, with Proficio raising its stake by more than 446,000% in Q3 and Invesco climbing over 55,000%. These dramatic percentage gains primarily reflect initial or significantly expanded positions.

DNB Asset Management entered the stock during Q4, purchasing 32,849 shares worth approximately $2.35 million.

Wall Street Sentiment: Cautiously Optimistic

Analyst opinion on CRWV remains divided though tilted positive. Among 33 analysts tracking the company, 19 maintain Buy recommendations, 12 assign Hold ratings, and two advise Sell. The consensus price target stands at $129.63.

Citigroup lifted its target from $155 to $158 recently while reaffirming a Buy stance. JPMorgan adjusted its target upward from $90 to $105 but kept a Neutral rating. DA Davidson, however, trimmed its target to $100 from $175 while maintaining Neutral.

Sanford C. Bernstein represents the most pessimistic voice on Wall Street with an Underperform rating and $67 price objective.

On the concern side, market observers are monitoring several headwinds. A newly announced Blackstone-Google AI partnership poses potential competitive pressure. DA Davidson has expressed worries regarding valuation levels, debt burden, and expanding losses.

CoreWeave reported $1.57 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, representing 110.4% annual growth. However, the company fell short on earnings, posting a loss of $0.89 per share versus analyst expectations of -$0.61. The Street currently projects a full-year loss of $4.15 per share.

In separate developments, significant shareholder Magnetar Financial divested 159,168 CRWV shares on May 7 at an average $129.91, trimming its position by 19.09%. COO Sachin Jain sold 14,750 shares on May 8 at $118.61, a sale linked to tax liabilities from equity compensation vesting.

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