BMO Starts Vertiv Coverage With a $329 Target, Betting on AI Power and Cooling

BMO Capital Markets sees another roughly 30% upside for Vertiv, even after the data-center equipment supplier’s shares gained nearly 56% this year. The firm began coverage on October 4 with an outperform rating and a $329 price target, CNBC reported. Its argument: demand for the power and cooling systems behind AI data centers still has room to grow.

The upside calculation uses Vertiv’s closing price on Friday, October 2—not a subsequent trading price. Analyst Daniel DiCicco sees the stock’s retreat from its May peak as an attractive entry point. That recommendation follows a gain of more than 900% over the past five years, rather than a previously overlooked company suddenly attracting attention.

More power in each rack

Data centers account for about 85% of Vertiv’s revenue, according to DiCicco. That makes the company’s exposure central to BMO’s recommendation, not a small AI-related business attached to a larger operation. Vertiv supplies digital infrastructure and hardware for data centers and other facilities.

DiCicco’s case goes beyond the number of facilities being built. He points to data centers getting larger and drawing more power per rack, alongside rising demand for resilience and faster deployment. He argues that Vertiv is among the few suppliers able to provide an integrated power-and-thermal-management solution across an entire data center.

The equipment opportunity also includes how much Vertiv can supply within each facility. DiCicco identifies innovation, standardization, growth in services and integrated systems as ways to increase that content, rather than relying solely on construction of additional sites.

Vertiv is well positioned as data centers are increasing in scale and intensity (more power to the rack) and demand for resilience and speed to deployment continues to increase,

Daniel DiCicco, BMO analyst, in a client note quoted by CNBC

A growth forecast behind the target

Vertiv management estimates its potential market at $75 billion, growing 16% to 18% annually, according to DiCicco. Within that outlook, data-center growth is estimated at 18% to 20% a year. Those figures describe management’s view of the market opportunity, not revenue Vertiv has already earned or spending customers have committed to it.

One concrete spending signal supports the expansion thesis. Commercial real estate firm Avison Young reported $6 billion in U.S. land purchases for future data centers during the first half of 2026, up 79% from a year earlier. That measures purchases for future sites, not completed facilities or sales of Vertiv equipment.

DiCicco goes further, suggesting Vertiv’s long-term growth forecasts could be conservative. BMO’s new call therefore rests on two judgments: that the company can benefit from more demanding data-center designs, and that its shares remain attractive after their substantial gains. The $329 target is the analyst’s valuation forecast, not a realized return.