Vertiv Holdings ( VRT ) stock rose Monday after receiving confirmation that it will join the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) before the market opens on March 23, as part of the benchmark’s quarterly rebalancing. The inclusion represents a significant milestone for the infrastructure company, which has emerged as a key beneficiary of accelerated artificial intelligence (AI) data center deployments in 2026.
Following today’s rally, Virtue stock is up more than 65% from its year-to-date low in early January.
Index inclusion is largely positive for Vertue Holdings, as it often encourages forced buying from institutional investors. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds that track the index must now buy millions of VRT shares to mirror the benchmark, creating largely inorganic demand.
Additionally, inclusion in the S&P 500 index serves as a seal of approval, increasing the company’s visibility and interest.
For VRT, which is already riding the artificial intelligence boom, this confirms its financial maturity and may attract a new class of long-term institutional partners, providing a stable floor for its stock price.
Despite the recent rise, the Vertue Relative Strength Index (14-day) is currently sitting around 67, indicating more room for upside.
At 41x forward earnings, Virtu shares aren’t particularly cheap to own in 2026. Still, Oppenheimer recommends buying as the company appears to be turning its record-setting book into earnings faster than peers. At the end of Q4, its backlog was an impressive $15 billion.
Additionally, VRT’s recent $2.1 billion bond offering and $2.5 billion credit facility were a “masterstroke” that provided much-needed liquidity to grow production capacity without stressing the balance sheet, Oppenheimer analysts noted.
The shift from AI training to AI inference is a secular tailwind for Vertue Holdings, according to analysts, as analytics require more distributed and continuous thermal management solutions, a key strength of the NYSE-listed company.
Other Wall Street analysts agree with Oppenheimer’s bullish view of Virtue Holdings.
