** At least five brokerages raise PT on data center equipment maker Vertiv VRT.N after co forecasts annual profit above Wall Street estimates

** Shares of the company were down nearly 2% at $244 premarket after hitting a record high on Wednesday

** Co on Wednesday said it expects 2026 adjusted profit between $5.97 and $6.07 per share, above analysts' estimate of $5.73, according to data compiled by LSEG

** Oppenheimer expects co to see stronger-than-planned demand and margin expansion over the next two years

** RBC says co's strong order surge and confident outlook for continued datacenter and AI-driven demand reinforce its bullish view on VRT

** 24 of 28 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 3 "hold" and 1 "sell"; their median PT is $233.50- data compiled by LSEG

** As of last close, VRT shares up 53.4% YTD

(Reporting by Apratim Sarkar in Bengaluru)

((Apratim.Sarkar@thomsonreuters.com))