Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Vertiv from a "strong-buy" to a "hold," though the Street consensus remains a Moderate Buy (20 Buys, 4 Holds, 1 Sell) with a $246.76 average target.
• Vertiv beat Q4 EPS ($1.36 vs. $1.29) with revenue up 22.7% to $2.88B and issued FY2026 guidance of $5.97–6.07 EPS, while the stock trades near its 52‑week high (~$310) and carries a high PE (~91).
• Significant insider selling has occurred (chairman sold 40,000 shares, director ~38,647, and ~489,761 shares sold in the past 90 days worth ~$123M) even as institutional ownership is ~89.9% and company moves—BMarko acquisition, Nvidia partnerships, and a ~ $15B backlog—support an AI‑infrastructure growth narrative.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vertiv in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertiv from $281.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $281.00 price target on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Vertiv from $200.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertiv from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.76.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VRT stock opened at $310.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.79 billion, a PE ratio of 91.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.04. Vertiv has a fifty-two week low of $65.93 and a fifty-two week high of $312.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $252.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.64. 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 (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 49.55% and a net margin of 13.03%.Vertiv's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Vertiv has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.970-6.070 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertiv will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman David M. Cote sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.29, for a total value of $10,211,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 22,258 shares in the company, valued at $5,682,244.82. This trade represents a 64.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $9,849,960.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,371,750. This represents a 60.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 489,761 shares of company stock valued at $123,356,815. 5.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Vertiv by 187.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,646 shares of the company's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its stake in Vertiv by 313.7% during the third quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 10,165 shares of the company's stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 7,708 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Vertiv by 272.7% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 8,825 shares of the company's stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 6,457 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in Vertiv by 35.5% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 272,608 shares of the company's stock worth $41,126,000 after acquiring an additional 71,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Vertiv by 5.5% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 143,100 shares of the company's stock worth $21,588,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company's stock.

More Vertiv News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertiv this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target and reiterated a bullish view, calling Vertiv an AI-driven infrastructure play — a driver behind renewed buying interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas initiated coverage with an "outperform" recommendation, adding another institutional endorsement that supports momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Vertiv completed the acquisition of BMarko Structures to expand manufactured/converged infrastructure capacity — strengthens supply and speed-to-market for data-center builds (important for AI deployments). Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Vertiv is listed among companies partnering with Nvidia in 2026, underscoring its role in the AI infrastructure ecosystem and supporting upside expectations from AI-driven demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Vertiv announced a collaboration with CPower to make behind‑the‑meter BESS grid‑interactive — this can improve interconnection timelines and economics for customers, expanding commercial opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and bullish writeups highlight Vertiv’s large backlog (~$15B) and leadership in liquid cooling — a thematic bullish case for AI infrastructure demand being underappreciated by the market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Vertiv is expected to announce quarterly earnings on Wednesday — results and guidance will be a near-term catalyst that could reinforce or reverse the current sentiment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/peer reviews (Q4 comparisons) are circulating and keep Vertiv in focus versus electrical-systems peers — useful context but not an immediate directional driver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $311 but that target implies only marginal upside from the current level, which could cap near-term gains if other analysts don’t push targets higher. Article Title

About Vertiv

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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