Nebius Stock: An 8.4% Rebound Built on IREN's Numbers, With Microsoft's Project Review Still Unresolved

Nebius shares climbed 8.4% on Friday to close at €116.30, riding a broader recovery in AI-related equities after a sharp selloff across the technology sector. Reuters explicitly named the company among the so-called neocloud providers whose stocks bounced as the sector-wide move took hold.

The rally had a concrete catalyst in the background. According to media reports, IREN's better-than-expected revenue figures lifted sentiment toward AI cloud providers, with its AI cloud revenue nearly tripling compared with the prior quarter. Coverage framed the numbers as relief from demand concerns that had surfaced earlier in the week.

A Bloomberg Report That Hit the Whole Group

Those concerns traced back to Thursday, when Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Microsoft had tightened its oversight of certain data center projects involving Nebius, IREN and Nscale. The software giant also pulled back from projects it judged risky, according to the report, and discussed whether to enter into new agreements with neocloud providers at all. Reuters picked up the Bloomberg story and reported the subsequent share-price declines across the provider group — a reaction that touched multiple companies, not Nebius alone.

That distinction matters for how the Friday move should be read. The rebound reflects a sector-wide swing in sentiment, while the Microsoft review remains a company-specific item that investors will want Nebius to address directly. A convincing account of how the affected projects are progressing — and what they mean for the company's trajectory — would carry more weight than the bounce itself.

Citi Keeps Its Buy Rating, Trims Its Target

Citigroup offered a similarly two-sided signal on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming quarterly report. The bank cut its price target on Nebius to $265 from $324 while reaffirming its buy recommendation. The combination suggests continued confidence in the story alongside greater caution on valuation — an argument against exuberant expectations while Nebius still has to flesh out its operating progress.

The next confirmed company date is November 12, when Nebius has said it will publish third-quarter 2026 results before the market opens. That release is the next opportunity to shift the focus onto Nebius itself, and the key question is how well the reported figures and management's commentary on the projects fit together.

For now, the stock has sector tailwinds at its back. Whether it earns more confidence depends on the company carrying that sentiment with progress of its own — until then, execution deserves more attention than Friday's gain.