TLDR
- On Friday, Vertiv stock declined by 3.1% to reach $241.91, with an intraday low of $238.65 and trading volume 33% higher than the average.
- Despite the drop, analysts maintain a bullish stance. RBC increased its price target to $266, Mizuho to $290, and Roth MKM to $275.
- Q4 earnings exceeded expectations. The EPS was $1.36, compared to the expected $1.29, and revenue was up 22.7% year – on – year.
- Over the past 90 days, insiders sold approximately 412,467 shares worth around $104.4 million.
- The board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per Class A share, payable on March 26.
On Friday, Vertiv (VRT) stock dropped 3.1%, closing at $241.91 after hitting an intraday low of $238.65. The previous closing price was $249.75.
The trading volume tells an interesting story. Around 8.07 million shares were traded, which is 33% higher than the average daily volume of about 6.05 million. Such high volume on a down day may indicate real selling pressure, not just random fluctuations.
This decline occurred despite Vertiv’s board approving a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0625 per Class A share. The dividend will be paid on March 26 to shareholders of record as of March 17.
That dividend announcement usually reflects management’s confidence in cash generation. The stock’s year – to – date performance is still an impressive 54.16%, so this pullback is coming from a high starting point.
From a fundamental perspective, there isn’t much to criticize. The company reported Q4 earnings on February 11, with an EPS of $1.36, beating the analyst consensus of $1.29 by $0.07.
The quarterly revenue was $2.88 billion, slightly below the estimated $2.89 billion but still up 22.7% compared to the same period last year. A year ago, the EPS was $0.99, so the improvement is quite evident.
For the coming year, Vertiv set the Q1 2026 EPS guidance at $0.950 – $1.010 and the FY 2026 guidance at $5.970 – $6.070. Analysts, on average, expect an EPS of $3.59 for the current year.
Analyst Targets Remain High
Wall Street remained unfazed. After the February earnings report, Mizuho raised its price target from $198 to $290 with an “outperform” rating. Royal Bank of Canada moved its target from $200 to $266, also with an “outperform” rating. Roth MKM reissued a “buy” rating with a target of $275.
Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from “hold” to “buy” on February 13. Wolfe Research was the exception, downgrading from “outperform” to “peer perform” back in December.
Overall, MarketBeat data shows 1 strong buy, 19 buy, 2 hold, and 1 sell rating, with an average of “Moderate Buy” and a mean target of $230.28.
Insider Selling Raises Eyebrows
Insider activity is harder to overlook. Over the past 90 days, insiders sold 412,467 shares worth approximately $104.4 million.
Director Roger Fradin sold 101,666 shares on February 27 at an average price of $252.13, totaling over $25.6 million. EVP Anders Karlborg sold 30,487 shares on February 26 at $246.92, which represents a 46.74% reduction in his ownership stake.
Insiders now hold 2.63% of the company, while institutional investors own 89.92%.
The stock has a market cap of $92.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.94, and a beta of 2.02. The 50 – day moving average is $201.78, and the 200 – day moving average is $174.70. The current price is well above both.
As of Friday, the technical sentiment signal still indicates a “buy”.