Vertiv Holdings (VRT) stock surged about 8.4% on Friday after top Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell upgraded his rating for the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company to Buy from Hold and boosted his price target to $200 from $181. Despite the recent pullback in VRT stock amid concerns about valuations of tech and AI plays, shares have gained more than 48% over the past year.
Claim 70% Off TipRanks Premium
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio's potential
Vertiv offers power, cooling, and IT infrastructure solutions for applications in data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities. It is benefiting from the strong demand for its data center infrastructure amid the ongoing AI boom. Vertiv reported upbeat Q3 results and a robust backlog of $9.5 billion, while raising its full-year guidance to reflect continued momentum in the data center infrastructure market.
Barclays Analyst Is Bullish on VRT’s Growth Potential
Mitchell stated that while he hasn’t been a big supporter of the “datacenter capex theme,” the recent swings in VRT stock price offer a good buying opportunity, with shares down from the all-time high of about $200.
The 5-star analyst noted that while VRT lagged his Overweight-rated AI stocks like GE Vernova (GEV) and nVent Electric (NVT) last year, it is well positioned to catch up in 2026, especially now that its PEG (price-to-earnings growth) ratio matches that of these peers.
Furthermore, Mitchell sees significant upside potential to Vertiv’s consensus earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027. He expects the company’s initial 2026 outlook to “comfortably bracket the consensus” at the high end. Mitchell believes that Vertiv’s conservative outlook provides the scope for “beat and raise” in the quarters ahead.
Mitchell ranks No. 386 among more than 10,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. He has a success rate of 62%, with an average return per rating of 12.7% over a one-year period.
Is VRT Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
With 15 Buys versus three Holds, Vertiv Holdings stock scores Wall Street’s Strong Buy consensus rating. The average VRT stock price target of $203.25 indicates 15.7% upside potential.
