Analyst Ratings January 26, 2026

CoreWeave Shares Jump After Nvidia Acquires 9% Stake to Speed AI Capacity Expansion

Nvidia buys 22.9 million Class A shares as the cloud GPU specialist targets more than 5 GW of contracted power by 2030

By Jordan Park CRWV NVDA
CoreWeave Shares Jump After Nvidia Acquires 9% Stake to Speed AI Capacity Expansion
CRWV NVDA

CoreWeave shares rose after Nvidia purchased 22.9 million Class A shares at $87.20 per share, giving the chipmaker roughly a 9% holding when combined with Class B ownership. The deal is intended to accelerate CoreWeave’s AI Factories expansion and co-development of data centers, even as the company reports rapid revenue growth alongside sizeable negative free cash flow.

Key Points

  • Nvidia acquired 22.9 million CoreWeave Class A shares at $87.20 each, valuing CoreWeave at about $46.3 billion based on a $99.05 trading price.
  • The investment gives Nvidia roughly a 9% stake and is intended to accelerate CoreWeave’s expansion from about 3 GW of contracted power toward more than 5 GW by 2030; CoreWeave had approximately 850 MW of capacity at the end of 2025.
  • Analyst views are mixed: Freedom Capital Markets reiterated a Buy rating with a $100 target, InvestingPro suggests the stock is slightly overvalued versus Fair Value, and analyst targets span $44 to $208.

CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) shares climbed Monday following a block purchase by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) of 22.9 million Class A shares at $87.20 apiece, a price described as roughly a 6% discount to CoreWeave’s closing level on Friday, January 23, 2026. CoreWeave was trading at $99.05 after the transaction, which implies a market capitalization near $46.3 billion.

The equity purchase gives Nvidia about 9% ownership of CoreWeave when its holdings in both Class A and Class B shares are combined. Market watchers and some brokers reacted quickly: Freedom Capital Markets reaffirmed a Buy rating on CoreWeave and kept a $100.00 price target following the announcement.

Third-party valuation data from InvestingPro indicates that Freedom’s $100 target closely mirrors the platform’s current Fair Value assessment, implying that at prevailing market prices the stock may be modestly overvalued. Analyst target prices for CoreWeave are highly dispersed, ranging from $44 on the low end to $208 at the high end.

The two companies framed the investment as a strategic step to accelerate CoreWeave’s AI Factories roll-out. Under the plan, contracted power for CoreWeave could rise from about 3 gigawatts today to more than 5 gigawatts by 2030. As context for that trajectory, Freedom Capital Markets reports CoreWeave finished 2025 with roughly 850 megawatts of capacity in place.

CoreWeave has demonstrated rapid top-line momentum, with revenue growth of 235.4% over the last twelve months. At the same time, InvestingPro data highlights that the company is generating significant negative free cash flow—exceeding $8 billion—as it funds the aggressive buildout of capacity.

Analysts and market participants note a potential financing benefit from the tie-up. Nvidia’s AA- credit rating could allow CoreWeave to access a lower cost of capital than it currently faces as a B+ issuer in S&P’s assessment, a dynamic that might alleviate some investor concerns about funding the company’s expansion plans.

The companies also announced intentions to co-develop data centers. Nvidia agreed to assist in selling CoreWeave’s platform software to AI enterprise customers and potentially to other neocloud providers, although Freedom Capital Markets cautioned that software sales are unlikely to be a meaningful near-term revenue driver.

Recent analyst activity underscores the heightened attention on CoreWeave. Needham analysts emphasized the planned integration of CoreWeave’s software stack with Nvidia’s AI compute infrastructure as a notable feature of the partnership. DA Davidson moved its rating on CoreWeave from Neutral to Buy, citing strengthening compute demand and clearer de-risking paths.

Other brokerages offered mixed but engaged views. JPMorgan kept a Neutral rating while acknowledging strong demand for AI-related compute capacity despite some site delays; the bank also noted a shift in customer contracts from standard three-year terms to longer five- or six-year commitments. Goldman Sachs launched coverage with a Neutral rating and a $86.00 price target, pointing to CoreWeave’s competitive edge from its purpose-built architecture.

Separately noted in related reporting, Nvidia has made a sizable $2 billion investment in CoreWeave in support of enhancing AI computing infrastructure and building toward the more-than-5-gigawatt capacity goal by 2030. That capital infusion and the planned technical integration form key elements of the companies’ stated strategy.

Taken together, the announcement represents a strategic capital and commercial linkage between a leading GPU supplier and a growing AI infrastructure specialist. The tie-up addresses capacity expansion, potential financing improvements, and channel support for CoreWeave’s software, while analysts remain divided on near-term valuation and revenue implications.


Summary

Nvidia bought 22.9 million CoreWeave Class A shares at $87.20, creating roughly a 9% ownership stake and prompting a rise in CoreWeave’s stock to $99.05. The partnership is designed to support CoreWeave’s push from about 3 GW of contracted power toward more than 5 GW by 2030 and includes plans to co-develop data centers and commercialize CoreWeave’s software, though near-term revenue contributions from software are expected to be limited.

Risks

  • Funding and cash burn - CoreWeave reported negative free cash flow of over $8 billion as it finances aggressive capacity expansion, creating funding risk for its buildout plans.
  • Execution and timing - Site delays have been noted by JPMorgan, and slower-than-expected buildout could affect contracted power targets and revenue timing.
  • Limited near-term revenue from software - While Nvidia will assist in selling CoreWeave’s platform software, Freedom Capital Markets does not expect material near-term revenue contribution from software sales.

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