Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vertiv shares fell sharply: The stock opened at $228.00 versus a prior close of $257.06 and last traded around $237.57, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Vertiv has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $357.83 price target, despite recent downgrades from some rating firms.
• Business growth continues: Quarterly EPS of $1.52 exceeded estimates, while revenue rose 24.1% year over year to $3.27 billion. The company also declared a $0.0625 quarterly dividend, though a director recently sold approximately $3.88 million of shares.

Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $257.06, but opened at $228.00. Vertiv shares last traded at $237.5660, with a volume of 2,259,588 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $368.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $380.00 target price on Vertiv in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertiv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vertiv from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.83.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $278.40 and its 200 day moving average is $292.05. The stock has a market cap of $90.53 billion, a PE ratio of 53.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. Vertiv had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 50.47%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Vertiv's revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. Vertiv has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.770-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward Monser sold 15,287 shares of Vertiv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.82, for a total value of $3,880,146.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,188,030. This trade represents a 48.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 25.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 2nd quarter worth $567,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 29,239 shares of the company's stock worth $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 9,712 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam purchased a new position in shares of Vertiv in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Company Profile

Vertiv Holdings Co NYSE: VRT designs, manufactures and services critical digital infrastructure that helps data centers, communications networks and other facilities operate reliably and efficiently. Its solutions support the availability, performance and growth of information technology systems.

The company's products and services include power management and distribution equipment, uninterruptible power supplies, thermal management and cooling systems, racks and integrated infrastructure, monitoring and management software, and lifecycle services.

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