TLDR
- Vertiv stock rose 5.4% Thursday after reporting Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.17, beating the $1.00 consensus estimate
- Revenue hit $2.65B, up 30.1% year-over-year, slightly above analyst expectations of $2.63B
- Management raised full-year FY2026 EPS guidance to $6.30–$6.40
- Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, TD Cowen, RBC, and Citi all raised price targets following the results
- Insiders sold roughly 489,761 shares worth ~$123M over the past three months, even as institutional ownership sits at ~90%
Vertiv Holdings stock climbed 5.4% on Thursday, closing at $321.60 after touching a high of $325.25. The prior close was $305.14.
The move came after Vertiv posted Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.17, well ahead of the $1.00 consensus. Revenue came in at $2.65 billion, up 30.1% year-over-year.
Interestingly, the stock had actually dipped 2.3% the day before — on the earnings report itself — as the Q2 guidance didn’t fully satisfy expectations heading into the print.
Q2 EPS guidance was set at $1.37–$1.43, and full-year FY2026 guidance was raised to $6.30–$6.40. Both ranges came in slightly below where parts of the Street were sitting.
The day-after rally was largely driven by analyst reaction. Several major firms raised their price targets after digesting the results.
Analysts Lift Targets
Morgan Stanley’s Christopher Snyder bumped his target to $350 from $285, keeping a Buy rating. He noted that continued order strength showed Q4 was not a one-off, and said the model is still set up for positive revisions even after the guidance raise.
Oppenheimer’s Noah Kaye raised his target to $330 from $320 and kept his Buy rating. He flagged that deferred revenue trends point to strong orders and pipeline growth, leaving room for further guidance upgrades later in the year.
TD Cowen’s Michael Elias took his target to $347 from $269, also with a Buy. He pointed to strong U.S. data center leasing activity and said record orders could come as early as Q2 2026.
RBC lifted its target from $344 to $356 with an Outperform rating. Citi moved from $340 to $353, also with a Buy.
Jefferies is the outlier — the firm kept a Hold rating and actually cut its target to $260 from $280.
Overall, Wall Street’s consensus sits at Strong Buy, with 17 Buy ratings versus one Hold. The average price target is $330, implying modest upside from current levels after VRT’s 99% year-to-date run.
Insider Selling Stands Out
While institutions have been adding — Vanguard, State Street, Geode, and Invesco all grew positions last quarter — insiders have been heading for the exits.
Over the past three months, insiders sold approximately 489,761 shares worth around $123 million. Director Steven Reinemund sold 65,000 shares at roughly $254 each in February, cutting his stake by nearly 49%. Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares at $254.87, reducing his position by over 60%.
Institutional investors currently hold about 89.9% of the stock.
Vertiv also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share, paid on March 26. The annualized yield stands at 0.1%.
The stock carries a P/E ratio of 94.31 and a beta of 2.04, reflecting both its premium valuation and elevated volatility relative to the broader market.
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