CoreWeave’s (CRWV) ascent is nothing short of spectacular
The niche GPU cloud player has become what the tech punditry calls a “neo-cloud,” purpose-built for AI. It runs robust, dense fleets of Nvidia (NVDA) GPUs, wired for speed, with the tools that spin up AI clusters in seconds.
Additionally, Nvidia’s deep partnership adds a ton of weight behind both its supply chain and credibility.
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Unsurprisingly, the story is hard for investors to ignore, given Wall Street’s seemingly insatiable appetite for all things AI. CoreWeave stock has gone parabolic, skyrocketing 250% year-to-date, with its market cap quadrupling since the IPO.
Heavyweight backers such as Nvidia, Fidelity, Vanguard, and JPMorgan have effectively fueled that momentum, while trading pros from Jane Street, Coatue, and PEAK6 have kept the liquidity humming.
However, even a market darling needs to prove staying power after such a sharp rise. Lock-up expirations usually opened the door for insider sales, and consequently, CoreWeave faces its first post-IPO stress test..
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Magnetar Financial’s insider stock sales put CoreWeave’s rally to the test
Magnetar Financial LLC, a more than 10% owner in CoreWeave, has been unloading shares in size.
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Since the beginning of October, the firm has sold off 4.79 million shares worth about $674.6 million, at an average of $140.91 apiece. For context, the hedge fund’s total sales in the AI cloud player now exceed $2 billion since the lock-up period expired in August.
Here are specifics of Magnetar’s October sales:
Oct 1
- 286,323 @ $137.11 = $39.26M
Oct 2
- 149,524 @ $138.20 = $20.66M
- 901,524 @ $141.22 = $127.31M
Oct 3
- 1,149,406 @ $139.79 = $160.68M
Oct 6
- 570,463 @ $139.27 = $79.45M
Oct 7
- 63,318 @ $137.63 = $8.71M
Oct 9
- 372,706 @ $141.16 = $52.61M
- 907,277 @ $141.16 = $128.07M
Oct 10
- 180,166 @ $148.80 = $26.81M
- 208,207 @ $148.80 = $30.98M
CoreWeave has probably been the hottest IPO this year, but big gains created profit-taking risk after the post-lock-up window opened.
CoreWeave’s IPO lock-up expired on Aug. 14, enabling early backers such as Magnetar to sell. The move effectively mirrors broader insider activity since mid-August as other IPO investors book profits.
Related: Top-rated analyst unveils eye-popping Nvidia price target
Given CoreWeave’s stratospheric rise and thin float, trimming positions reduces single-name risk and provides capital for other investments. Moreover, Magnetar’s share sales in particular included prepaid forwards and collars, allowing hedged exits while managing taxes and downside risk.
It’s important to note that CEO Michael Intrator and CSO Brian Venturo also sold in early October, indicating the sales are part of normal diversification rather than because of distress. Still, such heavy selling can potentially cap near-term rallies by boosting supply and testing investor sentiment.
CoreWeave’s demand story just got very real
CoreWeave’s latest earnings print backs up the hype.
Related: Cathie Wood sells shares in major AI stock
The AI upstart’s Q2 results showed sales landing at around $1.21 billion (up 207% year-over-year), while its management bumped FY25 guidance to $5.15–$5.35 billion, with Q3 at $1.26–$1.30 billion. That’s clear evidence that booked workloads are converting impeccably.
Visibility remains a kicker, though.
The reported sales backlog hit a whopping $30.1 billion as of June 30, indicating multi-year demand from customers looking to scale training and inference on Nvidia-dense clusters. This contracted demand is precisely why CoreWeave’s guidance keeps swelling.
Big-name customers deepen that cushion.
CoreWeave and OpenAI have made deals totaling up to $22.4 billion this year, anchoring next-gen model training. Separately, Meta has made a $14 billion multi-year commitment for AI capacity, diversifying CoreWeave’s book beyond a single tenant.
Nvidia also offers a unique downside buffer. The AI bellwether agreed to purchase up to $6.3 billion of any unsold CoreWeave capacity through April 2032. That key development effectively lowers utilization risk and significantly improves financing terms as new sites come online for CoreWeave.
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