CoreWeave stock rises 17% weekly, poised to enter the Nasdaq-100 index

CoreWeave opened Monday with its new position in the Nasdaq-100 Index, with the stock gaining 17.3% over the past five trading days. This provides the market with the next gauge of demand for AI infrastructure companies. U.S. trading markets closed Friday for Juneteenth and remained closed over the weekend. Monday was the first regular trading session following the holiday.

AI cloud company CoreWeave will join the Nasdaq-100 Index before market opening on June 22. The Nasdaq-100 Index tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies on Nasdaq. Nasdaq states that funds and products linked to the index control over $800 billion in assets globally. This forces index funds to purchase shares of the company upon its inclusion.

According to MarketScreener data, CoreWeave stock closed at $117.95 on Thursday, rising 2.38% that day. This brings the company's market capitalization to approximately $64.35 billion. The stock has risen 64.71% since the beginning of the year.

CoreWeave will join the Nasdaq-100 Index following this quarter's rebalancing, the company stated in an announcement on June 12. Chief Executive Officer Michael Intrator said, "CoreWeave's inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index reflects our growth and the rise of AI." Astera Labs and Nebius also joined the index this quarter as the market continues to shift toward AI hardware, cloud, and chip infrastructure stocks.

This situation involves both the mechanical effects of index rebalancing and fundamental support. Passive fund flows may help support the stock price in the near term. But the key question is whether investors still view CoreWeave as one of the few ways to bet on GPU capacity—the chips that power AI—rather than simply grouping it with other capital-intensive cloud companies.

Broad market gains are at play. Reuters reported Friday that investors are watching Micron Technology's June 24 report for signs of AI chip demand, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index hit a record, rising 7% this week. Andy Pratt, head of investment strategy at Burney Company, told Reuters that the sector may continue to attract investor support "unless proven otherwise."

CoreWeave's latest financial data provides support for bulls. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $2.08 billion, compared to $982 million in the same period last year. As of March 31, its revenue backlog stood at $99.4 billion. CoreWeave cited deals signed with companies including Meta, Anthropic, Cohere, Jane Street, and Mistral.

Analysts differ on how much future growth has already been priced in. Last week, Barron's reported that Brett Knoblauch of Cantor Fitzgerald called CoreWeave "severely undervalued" and maintained an overweight rating with a price target of $167. Macquarie upgraded its rating to outperform with a $125 price target. MarketScreener set the average analyst target at $140.18, approximately 18.85% above CoreWeave's last closing price.

But the investment thesis is not straightforward. CoreWeave is investing heavily in building data centers. Capital expenditures—spending on land, electricity, and equipment—risk straining its finances if growth slows. Reuters reported in May that CoreWeave raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast floor from $30 billion to $31 billion. First-quarter operating costs more than doubled, rising to $2.22 billion.

The downside risks this week: buyers are rushing in, but sellers may be watching elevated stock prices, rising component costs, and almost no room for error. CoreWeave reported a first-quarter net loss of $740 million, compared to $315 million in the prior year. The company warned that its outlook depends on demand for AI infrastructure, new customer acquisition, partners, suppliers, and capital.

Currently investors are pursuing growth velocity and capacity. Chief Executive Michael Intrator told Reuters in May, "We are in very good growth momentum." Andrew Rocco, equity strategist at Zacks, said that if investors continue to support this build-out, CoreWeave could become a "leader" in AI infrastructure. Monday is a test. The market will see whether investor patience stems from true conviction or merely benefits from index rebalancing.