In a volatile week for stocks and broader artificial intelligence trading, Wall Street analysts have increasingly jumped on the GE Vernova bandwagon. Jim Cramer urged caution. The energy equipment maker’s shares rose more than 4.5% on Thursday, after falling 10.5% earlier on a decline in AI data center stocks. Still, Jefferies has become the latest shop to upgrade its GE Vernova, a leading manufacturer of natural gas turbines that can connect to energy-intensive AI facilities to generate more electricity. Analysts upgraded the stock’s rating from hold to buy and raised their price target to $815 per share from $736. They predicted modulation in turbine orders and prices in the current fourth quarter and called for more upfront and meaningful free cash flow generation. Jefferies’ new price target implies a 33% upside from Wednesday’s closing price of $614, enough to erase gains from last week’s Investor’s Day. “I don’t see this stock (which I love and should be at $700) as anything but another call for discipline for people who want to set up an infinite number of data centers,” Jim said on “Squawk on the Street.” He suggested that the recent trade in GE Vernova stock is emblematic of the fickle short-term nature of investors who want to own companies that rely on large commitments from AI investments, which may or may not materialize. Jeff Marks, the club’s director of portfolio analysis, suggested the volatility in GE Bellnova’s stock meant potential buyers needed to be more cautious about price. “If you’re going to buy it, wait until the big, bad day comes,” Marks said during Thursday’s morning meeting. On Wednesday, we said that if GE Vernova falls to $600, we will buy back some of the shares we sold and strengthened on Monday at $694 per share. Despite zooming out, Jim agrees that the long-running GE Vernova story remains fascinating. The company is definitely a “home run” in 2025, with the stock still up nearly double year-to-date. But he is less optimistic than Jeffries about turbine pricing. “We have increased production capacity, but it won’t be available until 2030,” Jim said. Since customers are already locked into previous pricing, “if you sell out, you don’t have a lot of pricing power,” he continued. GEV YTD Mountain GE Vernova YTD Thursday’s bullish call from Jefferies was followed up by several calls this week. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $822 from $710 while reiterating its Buy rating, emphasizing that GE Vernova is central to its AI data center efforts. Wells Fargo also raised its price target on GE Vernova from $717 to $831 for similar reasons. On Monday, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on GE Vernova with a buy rating and a price target of $860. Analysts said the company has “pick and drop” exposure to a number of end markets in addition to data centers. Confidence in the stock increased after GE Vernova provided solid long-term guidance in its investor update on the evening of December 9th. The next day, the stock rose 15.6% to close at an all-time high of $723. At the time, we raised our price target on GE Vernova from $700 to $800 per share and reiterated our rating of 1, which equates to buy. As part of Monday’s trading, we lowered the stock’s rating to 2, the equivalent of a hold, but kept our price target unchanged. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is a long GEV. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
