Why GE Vernova Stock Just Got a $1,000 Price Target from JPMorgan

GE Vernova stock was soaring after the company provided guidance that surpassed high expectations. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• GE Vernova’s 2028 guidance, including over 10 billion in Ebitda, surpassed expectations, leading to a doubled dividend.
• GE Vernova stock increased by 15.6% to $723, reaching a new all-time closing high, the largest percentage increase since July 2025.
• JPMorgan raised its price target for GE Vernova to $1,000 from $740, citing strong order activity and grid electrification growth.

When it comes to GE Vernova stock, investors believe. Boy, do they. JPMorgan believes so much that it raised its price target to $1,000.

Wall Street success, of course, is a little different from business success. The latter can involve consistent profitability and growth in an attractive market. The former, however, starts with investors believing that guidance and numbers will show consistent improvement.

Wall Street success shows up, of course, in stock-chart and valuation ratios too. GE Vernova, in its brief history as a stand-alone company, is building a legacy of both business and Wall Street success.

Coming into Wednesday trading, GE Vernova stock was up 90% year to date, but shares were down 3% over the past three months. Investors were a little worried that the stock had rushed past fundamental improvement.

The power-equipment technology company met with investors on Tuesday night to discuss 2026 and longer term goals. The company nailed the gathering. Guidance for 2028, implying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization—or, Ebitda—of more than 10 billion, beat already-elevated expectations. What’s more, the dividend was doubled, reflecting management’s confidence in the strength of the business now and in the future.

GE Vernova stock rose 15.6% to $723, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7% and 1.1%, respectively. It was a new all-time closing high and the first new record closing high since Aug. 6, 2025, when shares closed at $664.55. It was the largest percent increase since July 23, 2025, when the stock gained 14.6%, according to Dow Jones Market data.

And no analyst seemed more pleased than JPMorgan’s Mark Strouse, who increased his price target on Buy-rated GE Vernova stock to $1,000, from $740, a new high-water mark on the Street, according to FactSet.

Fourth-quarter “order activity significantly exceeded expectations, and the company continues to test higher pricing on each deal,” wrote in a Wednesday report. “The [grid] electrification business also positively surprised, with backlog expected to double by 2028, after already doubling from year-end 2023 levels.”

Not everyone came away as bullish as Strouse. Guggenheim analyst Joseph Osha said there was “some upside” to his valuation model, but the good news was “already in the stock.” He rates shares Hold and doesn’t have a price target for the stock.

At current levels, GE Vernova trades for about 31 times estimated Ebitda expected over the coming 12 months. That is up from about 17 times at the time of the spinoff from GE Aerospace in early 2024. GE Aerospace stock trades for about 27 times Ebitda. Industrial companies in the Russell 3000 index trade for about 22 times Ebitda.

Despite a higher than average valuation, GE Vernova stock is still popular on the Street. Overall, 68% of analysts covering GE Vernova shares rate them Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for GE Vernova stock is about $724 a share, up $33 since the analyst meeting on Wednesday.

The expectations were high for GE Vernova. It’s safe to say the company met them, and then some.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com