Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vertiv Holdings Co. shares opened at $178.43 after closing at $168.88, reaching a last traded price of $180.86 with a significant volume of over 2.6 million shares.
• Investment analysts have positive outlooks, with Melius Research upgrading the stock from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating and UBS raising its price target to $173.00, while the overall consensus is a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• The company reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $0.95, exceeding estimates, and a revenue growth of 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $168.88, but opened at $178.43. Vertiv shares last traded at $180.86, with a volume of 2,623,459 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VRT. Melius Research upgraded Vertiv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Glj Research started coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. They set a "sell" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. William Blair started coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Rothschild Redb upgraded Vertiv to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertiv from $135.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.84.

Vertiv Trading Up 4.3%

The stock has a market cap of $67.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $138.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.83.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 51.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Vertiv has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.940-1.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertiv Holdings Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertiv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Vertiv's dividend payout ratio is 7.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv

In other news, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $1,943,065.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $573,873.52. This represents a 77.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Ryan sold 22,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.34, for a total transaction of $2,829,240.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,630,334.02. This trade represents a 63.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 180,952 shares of company stock worth $23,360,571. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertiv by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 8,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vertiv by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Presidio Capital Management LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the company's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its position in Vertiv by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertiv by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Vertiv by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 89.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertiv Company Profile

Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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