Shares of $NEBIUS (NBIS.US)$ continued to climb on Wednesday after Citron Research highlighted the company's potential to become the next artificial intelligence sensation on Wall Street on Tuesday, citing its deep ties with $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ and perceived undervaluation compared to competitor CoreWeave.
The surge followed Monday's announcement of a $700 million private placement financing round, backed by Nvidia, Accel, and accounts managed by Orbis Investments. The deal involves issuing 33,333,334 Class A shares at $21 each, representing a 3% premium over the volume-weighted average price since Nasdaq trading resumed.
Citron Research, through its X social media account, projected a potential $60 share price for Nebius, based on what it called "napkin math" assuming a 50% discount to CoreWeave's multiple. The research firm said, "Citron pounding the table that Nebius is poised to be the next AI Wall Street darling," emphasizing CEO Arkady Volozh's credentials and Nvidia's decade-long relationship with the company.
Volozh, a Russian technology entrepreneur and billionaire known for his expertise in computer science, expressed confidence in the company's direction. "The foundation of our business is our expertise in building advanced technology infrastructure," he stated, highlighting plans to expand AI infrastructure across two continents.
The backing from Nvidia carries particular weight given the chip giant's dominance in AI computing. Citron noted that Nvidia's investment "was not out of the blue," pointing to their long-standing relationship and timing with complete divestiture.
Citron's endorsement is notable given the firm's track record of market-moving calls. Its founder, Andrew Left, gained prominence for his contrarian positions, including his famous bearish stance on $GameStop (GME.US)$ in 2021 and recent skepticism about $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$'s Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) driven rally.
The stock was up more than 9% intraday Wednesday.
