CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) shares traded lower Thursday as Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) retreated from session highs, dragging its cloud infrastructure partner along for the ride.
The NVIDIA Connection
CoreWeave initially popped following NVIDIA's earnings beat, which makes sense given how intertwined these companies are. NVIDIA isn't just CoreWeave's chip supplier—it's also a major investor. When NVIDIA does well, CoreWeave tends to follow.
And NVIDIA did quite well. The chipmaker posted third-quarter revenue of $57.0 billion, crushing Wall Street's consensus estimate of $54.88 billion and representing 62% year-over-year growth. Earnings per share came in at $1.30, topping the Street estimate of $1.25.
Why the Pullback?
Despite the impressive numbers, markets gave back some gains as investors wrestled with what a strong September jobs report might mean for Federal Reserve policy. A hot labor market could complicate the case for a December rate cut, introducing fresh uncertainty into the equation.
CoreWeave positions itself as the premier cloud platform for AI development, offering teams the tools and technology to build and scale AI applications with confidence. As NVIDIA's top cloud partner, the company's fortunes are directly tied to GPU availability and demand.
What Analysts Are Saying
Recent analyst takes on CoreWeave have been all over the map. Goldman Sachs holds a Neutral rating but cut its price target to $105 from $120 on Nov. 17. Compass Point was more bullish, initiating coverage with a Buy rating and $150 target on Nov. 13.
Loop Capital and Barclays maintained Buy and Equal-Weight ratings respectively on Nov. 12, both setting targets at $120—down from previous estimates. Wells Fargo kept its Overweight rating the same day but trimmed its target to $150 from $170.
Price Action: CoreWeave shares were down 3.1% at $72.60 at the time of publication Thursday.
