Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Stock Falls 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Vertiv shares fell 4% after Mizuho cut its price target from $300 to $280, though it maintained an “outperform” rating. The stock traded near $206, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $335.67 despite several recent target reductions.
• Vertiv reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 24.1% year over year to $3.27 billion. The company also maintained 2026 EPS guidance of $6.65–$6.75 and pays a small quarterly dividend.

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) traded down 4% on Friday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $280.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vertiv traded as low as $205.88 and last traded at $206.0710. Approximately 6,408,106 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 6,377,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.75.

VRT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Vertiv from $387.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertiv in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on shares of Vertiv from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 target price (down from $353.00) on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other Vertiv news, Director Edward Monser sold 15,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.82, for a total transaction of $3,880,146.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,188,030. This trade represents a 48.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertiv

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Vertiv by 41.4% during the first quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 123 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vertiv by 60.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertiv during the third quarter valued at $35,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in Vertiv by 87.3% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 148 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Vertiv by 554.2% during the first quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 157 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Vertiv Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $257.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $79.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 2.05.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 50.47%. Vertiv's quarterly revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 14th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Vertiv's payout ratio is currently 5.66%.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co provides digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks, and other technology-intensive facilities. The company helps customers design, build, operate, and maintain infrastructure that supports the availability, performance, and efficiency of critical digital systems.

Its product portfolio includes power management and distribution equipment, uninterruptible power supplies, switchgear, busways, racks, integrated modular systems, and data center infrastructure.

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