Shares of Bloom Energy (BE) and Nebius Group (NBIS) plunged nearly 14% on Thursday, erasing recent gains as a combination of heavy insider selling, a short-seller report, and broader tech sector weakness spooked investors. Bloom Energy’s drop came despite a $1.7 billion project investment from Oaktree and Industrial Development Funding (IDF) to deploy solid‑oxide fuel cells for Nebius’s AI cloud infrastructure. Clear Street reiterated a Hold rating and $290 price target on BE, calling the pullback “opportunistic,” while highlighting three main concerns: a broader pullback in AI-related stocks since mid-June, New York’s one-year pause on new data centers above 50 MW, and a Hunterbrook short report flagging risks around scandium supply from China. Scandium is critical to Bloom’s fuel cells, and China’s tightening export licensing raised fears of shortages, though Clear Street noted former CFO concerns were focused on the 2027‑2028 timeframe.
Nebius, which had rallied a day earlier on an asset‑light partnership model and a $1 billion+ AI compute deal with Reflection AI, suffered a classic “sell the news” reversal. The company’s updated 2026 capex guidance of $20–$25 billion, with meaningful revenue not expected until H1 2027, added to the unease. Regulatory filings revealed that the CEO, CTO, and Chief Infrastructure Officer collectively sold over $140 million worth of stock in the past 90 days, amplifying negative sentiment. Meta’s reported plan to monetize excess AI compute capacity further pressured the neocloud sector, hitting NBIS and peer CoreWeave. Even Nvidia’s $2 billion investment and a five‑year $27 billion AI infrastructure deal with Meta, both from March, failed to lift Nebius’s stock during Thursday’s session, which saw the Nasdaq fall 0.6%.
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic on both names. For Bloom Energy, the consensus average price target is $250.41, implying about 38% upside, with Susquehanna and Baird maintaining positive ratings. Nebius holds a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $252.86, suggesting ~47% upside. Institutional ownership of BE stands at 77%, while insider sales added to the overhead. The sell‑off, though sharp, is being framed by some as a buying opportunity given strong underlying fundamentals and AI infrastructure tailwinds.
