HSBC Initiates Coverage on Vertiv (NYSE:VRT)

Key Points

• HSBC initiated coverage on Vertiv with a Buy rating and a $325 price target, implying roughly a 20.2% upside from the previous close.
• Vertiv beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.36 vs. $1.29), reported revenue up 22.7% year-over-year, and issued Q1 2026 guidance of $0.95–1.01 and FY2026 guidance of $5.97–6.07 EPS.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently—Chairman David Cote sold 40,000 shares and a director sold 38,647 shares, with insiders disposing of 489,761 shares (~$123M) over the past three months—while institutional ownership remains high at about 89.9%.

Research analysts at HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $325.00 price target on the stock. HSBC's price target points to a potential upside of 20.16% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on VRT. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertiv from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $198.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertiv from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Vertiv from $220.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.26.

Vertiv Stock Up 5.7%

Vertiv stock opened at $270.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.48 billion, a PE ratio of 79.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.55. Vertiv has a fifty-two week low of $53.60 and a fifty-two week high of $276.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.74.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.07. Vertiv had a return on equity of 49.55% and a net margin of 13.03%.The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertiv has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.970-6.070 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertiv will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman David M. Cote sold 40,000 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.29, for a total value of $10,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 22,258 shares in the company, valued at $5,682,244.82. The trade was a 64.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.87, for a total transaction of $9,849,960.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,371,750. This represents a 60.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 489,761 shares of company stock valued at $123,356,815. 5.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertiv by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertiv by 211.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 1,560.0% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Vertiv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Company Profile

Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company designs, manufactures and services equipment and software that support power availability, thermal management and IT infrastructure management for a broad set of end markets, including hyperscale and enterprise data centers, colocation providers, telecom operators and industrial customers.

The company's product portfolio includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), battery and DC power systems, precision cooling and thermal management equipment, racks and enclosures, and integrated modular infrastructure.

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