CoreWeave Insider Sells $147M in Shares as Lock-Up Period Expires; Magnetar Financial Still Holds $541M Worth of Stock

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2025 4:14 am ET2min read

Magnetar Financial, a majority shareholder of CoreWeave, sold $147.08 million in shares as the lock-up period expired. The surge in trading activity occurred as 84% of CoreWeave's Class A shares became available for trading for the first time since its IPO in March 2025. Insiders sold over $1 billion worth of shares last week, which may signal caution about the company's future potential. Analysts have grown increasingly cautious about CoreWeave's long-term outlook, with a Hold consensus rating based on five Buys, 14 Holds, and one Sell rating on TipRanks.

Title: CoreWeave Insiders Sell $1 Billion in Stock Amid IPO Lock-Up Expiry Concerns

CoreWeave, an AI hyperscaler, has seen significant insider selling activity as the IPO lock-up period expired, totaling over $1 billion. The sales came as investors rushed to offload shares ahead of potential volatility. CoreWeave is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CRWV.

On August 14, 2025, 84% of CoreWeave's Class A shares became available for trading for the first time since its IPO in March 2025. This move freed up a substantial portion of the company's shares, leading to significant trading volumes. Major financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs facilitated the block trades, with investors offloading shares en masse [1].

Among the insiders who sold their shares was Jack Cogen, a director of CoreWeave, who sold nearly $300 million worth of shares. Blocks as large as 6 million shares changed hands, with bankers expressing surprise at the number of willing sellers [1]. The recent lock-up expiry and insider selling activity highlight the fragility of CoreWeave's valuation, as over 10 million shares were traded in after-hours sessions alone, eroding $16 billion in market capitalization [2].

The expiration of the lock-up period has raised concerns about CoreWeave's financial health. The company reported a net loss of $290.5 million in Q2 2025, driven by $2.9 billion in capital expenditures. Despite a surge in revenue to $1.21 billion, the company's operating expenses surged to $1.19 billion, nearly quadrupling from the previous year [3]. The stock, currently trading at $98.77, has been under pressure since the company disclosed its Q2 2025 earnings.

Analysts have grown increasingly cautious about CoreWeave's long-term outlook. Citizens JMP analyst Greg Miller reiterated a Market Perform rating on the stock without a price target, reflecting the company's stronger-than-expected results and positively revised outlook [2]. However, concerns about GPU-as-a-Service providers' ability to manage declining average selling prices and increasing customer churn against rising real estate costs persist [2]. TipRanks shows a Hold consensus rating based on five Buys, 14 Holds, and one Sell rating [4].

Magnetar Financial, a majority shareholder of CoreWeave, sold $147.08 million in shares as the lock-up period expired. This sale, along with the broader insider selling activity, may signal caution about the company's future potential. CoreWeave's stock has a 26x price-to-sales ratio, which contrasts sharply with the 10x-12x valuations of cloud giants like Microsoft and NVIDIA. This disparity underscores the sector's risk profile and highlights CoreWeave's scalability challenges [1].

Investors should be cautious, as the expiration of the lock-up period exposes 83% of CoreWeave's shares to market absorption risks amid AI sector volatility. The company's recent $9 billion acquisition of Core Scientific adds another layer of uncertainty, with some shareholders expressing skepticism about the valuation. The ability to scale efficiently while managing costs will be critical for CoreWeave to unlock shareholder value [1].

References:
[1] https://www.ainvest.com/news/coreweave-insiders-sell-1b-stock-ipo-lock-period-expires-2508/
[2] https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-analysts-remain-cautious-coreweave-221319410.html
[3] https://www.tipranks.com/news/coreweave-crwv-insiders-sell-over-1b-worth-of-shares-as-ipo-lock-up-period-ends
[4] https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/crwv/forecast

CoreWeave Insider Sells $147M in Shares as Lock-Up Period Expires; Magnetar Financial Still Holds $541M Worth of Stock

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