Up to 19.4 million Cerebras Systems shares become eligible for sale on Wednesday under the AI chipmaker's staggered IPO lock-up, creating potential selling pressure. Cerebras shares fell 10.7% to $146.62 on Monday, the lowest close yet, according to Benzinga Pro market data. Shares are down about 58% from the $350 opening price in May. Shares trade roughly 21% below the $185 IPO price.
Cerebras structured the lock-up to release insider shares in stages rather than all at once, similar to SpaceX. Axios reported at the time of the IPO that several release rounds were planned through the end of October. Up to 19.4 million shares held by directors, officers, employees and other holders unlocked on Sept. 30, equal to 8% of shares outstanding. Cerebras shares fell 8.9% that day. Before that release, up to 14.6 million shares had become eligible for sale every two weeks since Aug. 19. CEO Andrew Feldman and CTO Sean Lie sold more than $240 million of Class A shares between Aug. 20 and Sept. 25 under trading plans.
The unlock follows questions about OpenAI, Cerebras' biggest customer. Research firm SemiAnalysis said on Sept. 30 that OpenAI would run the "Ultrafast" mode of GPT-6.1 Sol on NVIDIA GPUs rather than Cerebras hardware. Cerebras shares fell nearly 20% that week. Cerebras shares closed at $166.43 on Oct. 2.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back late that Friday, saying Cerebras was a close partner with a deep engagement in advancing speed. Cerebras shares jumped 9% the following Monday. However, Altman did not identify which chips run the new tier. CNBC reported that Citi analysts maintained an unchanged 2026-2028 revenue outlook for Cerebras. Citi analysts said the rollout was too early to support firm conclusions.
Cerebras has a multiyear deal worth more than $20 billion to supply OpenAI with 750 megawatts of computing power. OpenAI also lent Cerebras $1 billion. OpenAI holds warrants for up to 33.4 million shares.
Cerebras shares have fallen about 19% since closing at $181.55 on Oct. 5, reversing the gains following Altman's statement. Sector-wide pressure added to the losses. AI stocks slid on Oct. 8 after reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue at the end of September was about $18 billion below earlier figures.
Microsoft unveiled the Maia 300 chip on Monday. Microsoft said the chip would become the main inference system for Microsoft's own products. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 2.7% the same day. Inference is central to Cerebras' offering, and new in-house chips from major cloud companies increase competitive concerns.
Cerebras is now worth about $34.8 billion, compared with a valuation near $95 billion after the first day of trading. Cerebras shares were up 0.49% at $147.34 on Tuesday at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.
Cerebras Stock Faces 19.4M-Share Unlock After Record Low
BenzingaShare
Summary
On-chain analysis shows 19.4 million Cerebras (NASDAQ:CBRS) shares unlocked for sale, raising on-chain data concerns over selling pressure. The stock closed at $146.62, a 58% drop from its May price. Reports suggest OpenAI, Cerebras’ top client, may use NVIDIA GPUs for a new GPT model. Shares fell nearly 20% that week but gained 9% after Sam Altman confirmed the partnership. Microsoft’s Maia 300 chip for inference adds to the competitive mix.
Source:Show original
Disclaimer: The information on this page may have been obtained from third parties and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of KuCoin. This content is provided for general informational purposes only, without any representation or warranty of any kind, nor shall it be construed as financial or investment advice. KuCoin shall not be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any outcomes resulting from the use of this information.
Investments in digital assets can be risky. Please carefully evaluate the risks of a product and your risk tolerance based on your own financial circumstances. For more information, please refer to our Terms of Use and Risk Disclosure.