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Cerebras Hits Lockup Day Under CEO Andrew Feldman As Retirement Funds Brace for Impact

Cerebras faces a crucial test as insiders gain new freedom

By Damilola Esebame, CFEI® , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Nov. 10, 2026

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Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ: CBRS) went public on May 14 at $185 a share, opened at $385 on its first day, and closed near $311 after raising roughly $5.55 billion in one of the largest AI chip listings in history. The 180-day insider lockup tied to that debut includes periodic early releases of pre-IPO shares before the standard expiry, reaches its full term on November 10.

An early-release tranche on September 30 freed roughly 19.4 million shares, and the stock fell 8.87% that day before slipping below its $185 offer price on October 1 for the first time. Spotting hidden signs of financial stability in a stock heading into its largest supply event means looking past the selloff to the revenue underneath.

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CBRS opened at $385 on day one and has shed more than half its value since the debut

The stock raised about $5.55 billion by selling 30 million shares at $185, pricing above the initial $115 to $125 range and the revised $150 to $160 range, Yahoo Finance showed. The first-day close near $311 gave Cerebras a market capitalization of roughly $67 billion, making it one of the most richly valued AI hardware companies behind Nvidia.

By October 1, CBRS traded at $177.65, down 42.89% from the first-day close and about $7.35 below the offer price, 247 Wall St documented. A retiree holding the stock through an AI-themed or actively managed tech fund watched the position lose nearly half its value in fewer than five months.

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The September 30 early release freed 19.4 million shares and two executives filed to sell

About 19.4 million shares, equal to roughly 17% of the 112.25 million shares outstanding, became eligible for sale when the early-release tranche expired at 6 a.m. on September 30. Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dhiraj Mallick filed a Form 144 notice to sell 396,000 shares worth roughly $77.9 million, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Robert Komin filed to sell 32,500 shares worth about $6.39 million, 247 Wall St noted.

CEO Andrew Feldman and CTO Sean Lie sold more than $240 million in Class A shares between August 20 and September 25 under pre-arranged trading plans, KuCoin showed. The combination of executive sales and early unlocks pressured the stock into October, and the November 10 expiry opens the door for a much larger pool of shares to reach the market.

Feldman holds roughly $1.9 billion at the offer price and Lie holds about $1 billion

The CEO's stake was valued at approximately $1.9 billion and the CTO's at roughly $1 billion based on the $185 offer price, Yahoo Finance showed. Both positions are pre-IPO holdings that become fully eligible once the 180-day lockup clears, and neither executive is required to sell on any particular schedule.

Prior early releases started on August 19, with up to 14.6 million shares becoming eligible every two weeks through October.
The stock hit a record low of $146.62 on October 13, down roughly 58% from the first-day opening price and about 21% below the $185 offer.
Analysts hold 3 Strong Buy and 7 Buy ratings with an average price target of $291.64, suggesting the market sees value beyond the supply overhang.

A retiree holding Cerebras through a tech or AI fund faces a supply event where the shares becoming eligible dwarf the 30 million the IPO originally put on the market. The November 10 date marks the moment supply-and-demand mechanics may test the stock again, regardless of what the analyst targets say about the business underneath.

Q2 core revenue rose 103% to $209.9 million and remaining obligations hit $25.4 billion

Second-quarter core revenue reached $209.9 million, up 103% year over year, and remaining performance obligations, which represent contracted revenue not yet recognized, stood at $25.4 billion, 247 Wall St showed. Management guided third-quarter core revenue to between $214 million and $216 million, signaling continued growth through the lockup expiry.

OpenAI signed a multiyear deal for 750 megawatts (MW) of inference compute worth more than $20 billion, and CEO Feldman said on the August 12 earnings call that OpenAI would "stay a big part next year," 247 Wall St documented. The revenue pipeline is substantial, but the concentration in a single customer adds a layer of risk your fund disclosure may not emphasize.

OpenAI lent Cerebras $1 billion and holds warrants for up to 33.4 million additional shares

The $1 billion loan from OpenAI came alongside warrants that could add up to 33.4 million shares to the outstanding count, KuCoin showed. The warrants represent another source of potential dilution beyond the lockup, and a full conversion would add more shares than the 30 million sold in the original IPO.

A SemiAnalysis report published on September 30 suggested that OpenAI's newest ultrafast model runs on standard Nvidia GPUs rather than Cerebras hardware, though OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back by calling Cerebras a close partner, KuCoin noted. The largest customer provides both the revenue case and the uncertainty, a dynamic worth weighing inside any retirement fund holding the position.

The lockup expiry tests whether insiders believe the growth story justifies holding at current levels

The stock trades at roughly 68 times trailing sales and 217 times forward earnings at the October 1 price, 247 Wall St showed. Insiders who hold through November 10 signal confidence in a valuation built on rapid revenue growth, while those who sell add supply to a market that already struggled to absorb the earlier tranches.

Bottom line

Cerebras grew core revenue 103% in Q2 and carries $25.4 billion in contracted obligations that underpin the analyst consensus of $291.64. The growth makes the case for the business, but the lockup expiry introduces a test that revenue alone does not answer, because the question shifts from "is the company growing?" to "are insiders selling faster than buyers appear?"

A quick check on must have investing apps may reveal whether your AI-themed or target-date fund holds a position heading into its largest supply event since the May debut. The $1.9 billion in CEO stock and $1 billion in CTO stock at the offer price represent the weight of what could move. The direction those shares take on November 10 may set the tone for the rest of the quarter.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

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