Deutsche Bank's Bold Bet: CoreWeave Price Target Soars 40% on Nvidia Partnership and AI Boom
In a significant vote of confidence for the AI infrastructure sector, Deutsche Bank has sharply raised its price target for CoreWeave (CRWV) by 40% to $140, upgrading the stock to a "Buy." The move underscores the cloud computing specialist's pivotal role in powering the generative AI revolution, backed by heavyweight contracts and a fortified partnership with chip giant Nvidia.
CoreWeave, founded in 2017 and headquartered in New Jersey, operates a high-performance network of data centers across the U.S. and Europe. Unlike general-purpose cloud providers, it specializes in GPU-dense infrastructure optimized for training and running massive AI models, serving clients like OpenAI and Meta.
The analyst action follows Nvidia's recent $2 billion strategic investment in CoreWeave, which extends beyond capital to include collaborative plans to build over 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2030. "This isn't just a cash infusion; it's a strategic lockstep," noted Deutsche Bank's report, led by analyst Brad Zelnick. The partnership is expected to accelerate CoreWeave's expansion, secure priority access to Nvidia's next-generation chips like Rubin, and potentially integrate CoreWeave's software into Nvidia's ecosystem.
The upgrade arrives amid mixed financial signals. CoreWeave's Q3 2025 results, reported in November, showed explosive revenue growth of 134% year-over-year to $1.36 billion, with a significantly narrower net loss. Its contracted future revenue backlog nearly doubled sequentially to a staggering $55.6 billion. However, the stock has exhibited high volatility, down sharply over the quarter but up 26% over the past month, highlighting the market's struggle to price its breakneck growth against substantial ongoing investments.
"CoreWeave's >1 gigawatt of readily available power capacity is a critical moat in an industry constrained by energy and infrastructure," the Deutsche Bank analysis added, pointing to a key competitive advantage. The firm will be closely watching the Q4 2025 earnings report scheduled for March 3.
On Wall Street, sentiment is cautiously optimistic. The stock currently holds a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating among 30 analysts, with a mean price target of $124.44, implying a 33% potential upside from recent levels.
Michael Thorne, Portfolio Manager at Horizon Capital: "This upgrade validates the 'picks and shovels' thesis within AI. CoreWeave isn't just riding the wave; it's building the plumbing. The Nvidia alignment de-risks their technology roadmap and provides a tangible path to scaling that backlog."
Lisa Chen, Tech Analyst at ClearView Research: "The fundamentals are undeniably strong, but the valuation already bakes in perfection. A $55 billion backlog is phenomenal, but execution at this scale is unprecedented. The capital expenditure guidance of $12-14 billion for FY25 is a staggering sum that will keep profits elusive for the foreseeable future."
David R. Miller, Independent Investor: "It's another example of analyst herd mentality. They downgrade when sentiment is low and pile on after a 26% monthly run-up and a news headline from Nvidia. Where was this $140 target when the stock was getting hammered last quarter? This feels reactive, not prescient. The 'AI factory' hype is deafening, but the bottom line is still deep red."
Sarah Jennings, CIO at Steadfast Technologies Fund: "The volatility is a feature, not a bug, for high-growth infrastructure plays. Our focus is on the multi-year capacity agreements with blue-chip clients. In a market desperate for pure-play AI exposure beyond Nvidia, CoreWeave offers a compelling, albeit high-risk, conduit."
On the date of publication, Ruchi Gupta did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com.