CoreWeave soars after Microsoft earnings, Citi upgrade

Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) are on the rise on Thursday after Microsoft’s (MSFT) strong results amid record AI spending and following Citi’s upgrade of the former’s shares to Buy. The firm also closed its “90-day negative catalyst watch” on CoreWeave as it sees accelerating growth for the company in 2026 on ramping contracts and positive artificial intelligence demand. Meanwhile, Applied Digital (APLD) revealed a massive leasing deal with CoreWeave.

UPGRADE TO BUY: CoreWeave is trading higher this morning on the heels of Microsoft’s strong quarterly results and as Citi upgraded the stock on pullback and ramping AI demand. The firm upgraded CoreWeave to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $160, and closed its “90-day negative catalyst watch” on CoreWeave with the stock down 45% from its peak. Citi still expects trading volatility around the share lockup expiration on August 15, but views CoreWeave’s fundamentals as stronger post the Microsoft earnings report. It sees accelerating growth for the company in 2026 on ramping contracts and positive artificial intelligence demand.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised the firm’s price target on CoreWeave to $91 from $58 and kept an Equal Weight rating on the shares. CoreWeave’s first quarter out of the gate demonstrated strong execution against accelerating customer demand, the analyst contends. A robust demand backdrop, “solid” execution and “impressive” Q1 upside will drive expectations higher, but the upcoming lockup expiration could weigh on shares in the near-term, the analyst added.

APPLIED DIGITAL DEAL: Alongside its earnings release, Applied Digital (APLD) revealed a massive leasing deal with CoreWeave. The company announced 250MW AI Data Center leases with CoreWeave in North Dakota. Over the approximately 15-year lease terms, Applied Digital anticipates generating approximately $7B in contracted revenue from the leases.

Since the end of the fourth quarter 2025, CoreWeave exercised its option for an additional 150MW, which would bring the total capacity leased by CoreWeave to 400MW and would add approximately $4B in contracted revenue, which would bring total contracted revenue to approximately $11B for the approximately 15-year lease terms.

Following the news, Lake Street raised the firm’s price target on Applied Digital to $18 from $14 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. CoreWeave recently exercised its option for the third data center building and “momentum is increasing for Applied since landing CoreWeave,” said the firm, which added that Applied management’s statement that it was in advanced contract discussions with one of two additional hyperscalers as a potential new customers increases the firm’s confidence in Applied’s market position and stability of demand.

OF NOTE: CoreWeave is expected to report second quarter earnings on August 12, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET.

PRICE ACTION: Shares of CoreWeave are up about 12% at $115.19 in Thursday morning trading.