Stock Soars, Becomes New Focus for AI Investors
Cloud computing service provider CoreWeave has seen its stock skyrocket by 248% since its listing this year, reaching a new closing high of $150.48. On this Tuesday alone, its single-day gain exceeded 25%. Starting from $40 at IPO, its market value has climbed to $72 billion. CoreWeave has been hailed as the "NVIDIA's darling," becoming a leader in the current AI boom.
Since its financial reports were released in mid-May, the stock has been warmly received by the market, ranking among the top two in trading volume on the Public.com platform. The number of bullish call options by retail investors is four times that of bearish put options, showcasing high expectations for its growth prospects.
Rapid Expansion of AI Data Centers, Significant Increase in Capital Expenditure
CoreWeave's core business lies in providing computational power for AI applications based on NVIDIA's GPU architecture. In recent years, the company has been continuously developing AI data centers and currently owns 33 facilities across the United States and Europe.
The latest expansion move involves a large-scale leasing agreement with Applied Digital to strengthen its AI computational power coverage in North America and Europe. The company anticipates a 53% year-over-year increase in capital expenditure in 2025, reaching $21.5 billion to support infrastructure construction, technology upgrades, and deepening partnerships with major clients like Microsoft and OpenAI.
Retail Investors Bullish, Institutions Cautious, Short Selling Costs Soar
Despite the high enthusiasm from retail investors, Wall Street remains cautious about CoreWeave. Before the IPO, investment banks reduced the issuance size due to concerns over risks such as high debt, customer concentration, and management cashing out, allocating most of the shares to strategic investors like NVIDIA and Fidelity.
According to S3 Partners data, about 30% of the available shares are currently shorted, indicating persistent valuation doubts in the market. However, as the stock price continues to rise, borrowing costs have soared, making shorting the stock an expensive gamble.
S3 analyst Matthew Unterman notes that with the scarcity of available shares, the demand for short selling could further increase the stock's volatility, forcing short sellers to cover.
Stable Shareholder Structure, Ample Room for Future Capital Operations
CoreWeave has a strong lineup of major shareholders including Magnetar Capital, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Fidelity Funds. Furthermore, the company's three co-founders and key investors collectively hold over 60% of the circulating shares, providing a stable shareholder structure.
Notably, the co-founders have already cashed out $500 million at the IPO stage, alleviating short-term selling pressure. Analysts believe that the current high stock price opens up more possibilities for CoreWeave in capital operations, such as additional financings and acquisition expansions.
Although some stocks may enter the circulation market following the summer unlocking, considering its robust performance and strong demand in the AI industry, most analysts remain cautiously optimistic about its medium to long-term prospects.
