CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) billionaire co-founders and top executives have aggressively unloaded more than $2.3 billion worth of their own shares since the company's March 2025 initial public offering.
The massive sell-off has prompted sharp criticism from legendary short-seller Jim Chanos, who publicly labeled the aggressive liquidation “normal behavior,” raising urgent questions for retail investors about the AI infrastructure giant’s long-term outlook.
Chanos Sounds The Alarm
The liquidation caught the attention of veteran short-seller Chanos, who voiced heavy skepticism on X. He pointed out that it wasn’t just the founders walking away. Magnetar Financial LLC, a key institutional backer, also cut its holdings in half.
When market commentator Rittenhouse Research defended the sales as routine profit-taking, Chanos shot back directly.
The Multi-Billion Dollar Windfall
CoreWeave's stock price has more than doubled since its IPO. It was listed at $40 per share on March 28, 2025, and closed on Tuesday at around $99 per share. However, according to recent SEC filings, as the company's lockup period expired, its highest-ranking insiders used 10b5-1 trading plans to cash out.
Chief Strategy Officer Brian Venturo led the charge, selling over $1.1 billion in stock. Other key co-founders, including Michael Intrator and Brannin McBee, were behind the bulk of the remaining sales.
In the last 30 days, Benzinga data show that insiders dumped 3.03 million shares, totaling $382.41 million, with absolutely zero insider purchases recorded.
Is It Time to Worry?
Defenders argue that the executives still hold sizable stakes—Intrator remains the largest shareholder with a 10.4% stake—and that it is reasonable to “take some chips off the table” given their net worths are tied up in the stock.
Nevertheless, with insider ownership now sitting at just 0.99%, the aggressive cash-out leaves Wall Street deeply divided on whether CRWV has peaked.
How Has CRWV Performed In 2026?
Shares of CRWV have advanced by 37.48% year-to-date. It closed 3.83% lower at $98.45 apiece on Tuesday, and it was 1.97% lower in overnight trading.
Over the last month, CRWV stock was down 13.75%, and it rose 8.59% over the last six months, but dropped 39.27% over the year. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRWV maintains a strong price trend in the medium term but a weak trend in the short and long terms.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock
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