Nebius Group (NBIS) shares moved higher Tuesday following news that the company is making a strategic acquisition to beef up its AI capabilities. The move comes as Nebius positions itself in what could become a massively lucrative market.

The Deal That's Got Investors Talking

Nebius announced it's acquiring Tavily, a provider of agentic search technology that will bring real-time search infrastructure to its AI cloud platform. Think of it as giving AI agents the ability to search the web in real-time with accuracy—a pretty essential feature if you're building autonomous AI systems that need current information.

The acquisition fits neatly into Nebius's broader strategy: creating a unified platform where enterprises can build and operate autonomous agents. That's not a niche market, either. Industry projections suggest the agentic AI space could hit somewhere between $140 billion and $200 billion by the early 2030s. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the strategic logic is clear.

Tavily brings some impressive credentials to the table. The company's technology is already being used extensively, with over 3 million monthly SDK downloads and a developer community that exceeds one million users. Their client roster includes Fortune 500 companies and leading AI firms, which suggests the technology has proven itself at scale.

What the Charts Are Saying

From a technical perspective, Nebius is showing some interesting patterns. The stock is currently trading 2.8% below its 20-day simple moving average but sitting 0.3% above its 50-day SMA. That suggests a bit of short-term softness, though the medium-term trend remains stable.

The longer view is more impressive: shares have surged 127.20% over the past 12 months and are positioned much closer to their 52-week highs than lows. The RSI sits at 51.14, right in neutral territory, while the MACD is below its signal line, hinting at some bearish pressure. In other words, momentum is mixed—neither buyers nor sellers have clear control right now.

Key levels to watch include resistance at $96.00 and support at $83.00.

It's worth remembering that Microsoft became a major Nebius client last September under a multiyear agreement worth $17 billion in revenue to provide computing capacity. That's the kind of partnership that validates a company's technology and market position.

Earnings Just Around the Corner

Nebius is scheduled to report earnings on February 12, 2026. Analysts are expecting the company to post a loss of 54 cents per share, which is actually wider than the 37-cent loss from the same period last year. But here's the interesting part: revenue is projected to jump dramatically from $37.90 million to $238.55 million year-over-year. That's more than a six-fold increase, reflecting the company's rapid scaling.

Wall Street maintains a Buy rating on the stock with an average price target of $150.71—suggesting analysts see significant upside from current levels. Recent analyst activity includes Morgan Stanley initiating coverage with an Equal-Weight rating and $126.00 target on January 15, Citizens starting coverage with a Market Outperform rating and $175.00 target on November 19, 2025, and BWS Financial maintaining its Buy rating with a $130.00 target on November 13, 2025.

Performance Scorecard

Looking at the stock's fundamental positioning, Nebius shows a split personality. The momentum score comes in at an impressive 93.67, indicating the stock is substantially outperforming the broader market. However, the value score sits at just 3.56, suggesting the stock is trading at a premium relative to its peers. Translation: the market is pricing in a lot of growth expectations, which the Tavily acquisition and Microsoft partnership help justify.

Price Action: Nebius Group shares were trading up 0.67% at $93.50 at the time of publication Tuesday.