Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) Upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Vertiv to a Strong-Buy, joining other bullish analysts; the stock's consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $246.76.
• Shares are trading near $310 (close to a 1‑year high) with a $118.8B market cap and an elevated valuation (P/E ~91) after a quarterly EPS beat, 22.7% YoY revenue growth and FY26 guidance of 5.97–6.07 EPS, supported by a ~ $15B backlog and AI‑infrastructure catalysts (BMarko acquisition and Nvidia partnerships).
• Insiders have sold substantial stock recently (≈489,761 shares worth ~$123.4M over 90 days), leaving insiders with 5.01% ownership, while institutional investors hold about 89.9% of the shares.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas Exane to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertiv from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $325.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vertiv from $200.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Vertiv in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.76.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.5%

VRT stock opened at $310.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average is $252.42 and its 200 day moving average is $201.64. The stock has a market cap of $118.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.04. Vertiv has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $312.46.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.89 billion. Vertiv had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 49.55%. Vertiv's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertiv will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertiv news, EVP Anders Karlborg sold 30,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $7,527,850.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,579,482.32. This represents a 46.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan Van Dokkum sold 38,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 489,761 shares of company stock valued at $123,356,815 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertiv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $356,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 38,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,190,000 after purchasing an additional 5,802 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertiv by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 463,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,201,000 after purchasing an additional 180,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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

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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