NEW YORK, Jan 15, 2026, 20:48 EST — Market closed.
- Nebius Group shares closed Thursday 1.9% higher, at $103.89.
- Morgan Stanley started coverage, assigning an Equal-Weight rating and setting a price target at $126.
- U.S. markets remain closed Monday for the MLK holiday. Attention now turns to Tuesday’s reopening and the upcoming earnings season.
Nebius Group N.V. shares ended Thursday up 1.9%, closing at $103.89, following Morgan Stanley’s debut coverage of the AI-focused cloud infrastructure firm.
The call comes at a sensitive time for AI infrastructure stocks. Investors continue to favor the “picks-and-shovels” players, yet they swiftly penalize any company showing cash burn and narrow execution timelines.
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and set a $126 price target, noting Nebius’ vertically integrated AI cloud has gained “strong external validation and key reference customers.” The firm also cautioned that Nebius’ near-term targets appear aggressive and believes the stock is fully valued at current levels. TipRanks
Nebius hit a peak of $108.13 on Thursday, then pulled back to $103.89 by session’s end, after closing at $101.98 the day before. About 11.1 million shares changed hands, MarketBeat reported.
“Equal Weight” isn’t a recommendation to buy. It signals the bank expects the stock to track closely with its sector peers.
Nebius brands itself as a “neocloud” player — a niche cloud provider offering access to high-end, costly GPUs essential for AI model training and deployment. This puts it in direct competition with giants like Amazon and Google. Co-founder Roman Chernin told Reuters in December they’re bracing for tougher times ahead. “We should be ready (for when) the winter will come,” he said, as the company ramps up capacity following multi-billion dollar deals with Microsoft and Meta, aiming to secure 2.5 gigawatts of contracted power by the end of 2026. Reuters
Nebius announced in September it aims to raise $3 billion through a convertible notes offering and a share sale to finance the expansion of its AI cloud infrastructure.
The model demands heavy capital, and timing is a double-edged sword. Back in November, when Nebius announced a $3 billion, five-year deal with Meta, quarterly revenue soared 355% to $146.1 million. Yet capital spending also jumped to $955.5 million, and losses widened as the company rushed its expansion.
U.S. stock markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trading picks back up Tuesday, after a long weekend for investors to mull over the initiation and valuation debate.
As the market reopens, all eyes will be on whether Nebius can maintain its recent gains following Thursday’s sharp intraday swing. Traders will also be scanning for fresh analyst notes or company updates, especially around bookings, funding, and the pace at which power and hardware can come online.
Looking past Tuesday, the next major event is Nebius’ quarterly earnings report, which Zacks projects will drop around Feb. 18.
