Al Root
The current environment -- global conflict, rising interest rates, high oil prices -- hasn't been good for many stocks, including GE Vernova. But recent declines made its shares too attractive to pass up for a one-time bear.
Rothschild & Co. Redburn analyst Simon Toyne double upgraded GE Vernova to Buy from Sell on Monday.
Upgrading to Buy from Sell is rare. Analysts typically move ratings one notch at a time, from Sell to Hold, from Hold to Buy, and vice versa. Toyne believes demand for power equipment is stronger than expected, which will lead to an increase in the company's guidance.
GE Vernova expects 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, of about $5.3 billion, up from $3.2 billion in 2025. Higher prices and higher demand for power-generation equipment are responsible for gains.
His price target essentially doubled to $1,100 from $560. The $1,100 mark is the new highest price target on Wall Street, according to FactSet.
GE Vernova stock was down 0.6% in early trading at $784.50, while the overall market struggles. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 1% and 1.1%, respectively. Oil prices were rising again amid the continuing conflict in the Middle East, topping $100 per barrel early Monday.
The conflict has weighed on shares of capital equipment providers. Coming into Monday trading, shares of GE Vernova were down about 8% over the past week. Shares of semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker ASML were down 9%.
Both companies make expensive machine orders years in advance. Higher rates and higher uncertainty weigh on investor sentiment.
The recent decline, however, is an opportunity at Redburn, with electricity demand growing at the highest rates in a generation thanks to the boom in power-hungry artificial-intelligence data centers.
To be sure, there are risks. "Current leading-edge margins originate in gas turbine demand that will be unsustainable unless AI adoption continues to grow extremely rapidly and other potential speed limits (permitting, water, labor, memory, etc.) are alleviated," noted Redburn.
GE Vernova is another stock that boils down to strong demand for AI.
Overall, 79% of analysts covering GE Vernova stock rate shares Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for GE Vernova stock is about $873.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 09, 2026 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)
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