Berkshire Hathaway’s stock (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) is rallying today because the company still trails the wider market, trades below last year’s richer valuation, holds almost $400 billion in cash, and may have bought back billions of dollars of its own shares.
Barron’s reported that the rally carried the conglomerate to an eight-month high this week. The gain also came while technology shares fell, drawing money toward a large defensive company with businesses in insurance, rail, energy, manufacturing, retail, and finance.
The Class B shares closed Tuesday at $512.37, their best finish since November 28, when they ended at $513.81. They had closed Friday at $511.54, or 5.2% below the record close of $539.80 set on May 2, 2025.
That record came one day before Warren Buffett said he would leave the CEO job at the end of 2025. The Class A shares ended Tuesday at $768,010, also their highest close since November 28’s $770,100. Friday’s Class A close of $766,600 was 5.3% under its record of $809,350.
Berkshire Hathaway attracts buyers as tech falls and UBS raises its target
Both Berkshire share classes are up only about 1% in 2026, compared with a return of roughly 9% for the S&P 500. The company has also trailed stocks connected to two of its largest operations. Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), the closest listed comparison for BNSF, has gained about 30% this year. Chubb (NYSE: CB), a major property and casualty insurer, has also posted a much larger gain.
UBS Group (NYSE: UBS) analyst Brian Meredith raised his Class A price target by 3%, taking it to $877,848 from $854,596, while keeping a Buy rating. That target is about 15% above the share price used in his report. Brian estimated Berkshire’s intrinsic value at nearly $800,000 per Class A share, around 5% above the current price.
Brian also raised his profit forecasts. His 2026 estimate for the Class B shares increased 1.3% to $21.05, while his 2027 figure rose 0.8% to $21.32. He cited “modestly higher earnings at BNSF and lower catastrophe losses” during the second quarter. The disaster-loss figure relates to Berkshire’s large property and casualty insurance business.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) now trades at about 1.4 times an estimated book value of roughly $535,000 per Class A share. The earlier estimate for the end of the second quarter was about $522,000. The current ratio sits near the lower end of its range in recent years and below the 1.8 times recorded in May 2025, when Class A traded near $810,000.
The company is due to publish its second-quarter results within the next two weeks. That report will include shareholder equity and an updated book-value figure. Berkshire’s cash balance is also helping the stock while traders cut technology exposure. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE Arca: XLK) fell another 2% Tuesday, and Berkshire has often traded against the tech sector’s direction this year.
Rail, insurance, buybacks, and stock holdings add support to Berkshire Hathaway
Brian said Berkshire appeared to repurchase about $8.5 billion of its stock during the second quarter, based on an ownership filing from Warren. He called the possible purchase a “bullish sign.” It would rank among the company’s largest quarterly buybacks. Barron’s placed the likely total between $5 billion and $11 billion after reviewing the filing earlier this month.
There is no peer comparison on the open market for Berkshire Hathaway since the stock is valued at around $1.1 trillion and consists of a diversified portfolio of businesses. However, there are some stocks related to Berkshire that have performed much better than the latter. The railroad company CSX (NASDAQ: CSX), for instance, is up by more than 50% this year.
Berkshire also controls the world’s largest property and casualty insurance capital base. Its insurance companies include auto insurer Geico and reinsurer Gen Re. Listed insurers have posted strong gains, with Chubb and Everest Group (NYSE: EG) rising about 15% to 20%.
The listed stock portfolio has added more value during the quarter and across 2026. CNBC’s portfolio tracker puts its size near $360 billion. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Berkshire’s largest holding, reached a new high Tuesday near $340 and is up about 25% this year. The position is worth roughly $77 billion.
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) also reached a record on Tuesday after reporting second-quarter earnings. Its shares rose about 6% that day, traded near $89, and brought their yearly gain close to 29%. Berkshire owns more than $35 billion of the stock. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) reached a 52-week high on Monday and has gained about 10% this year. Berkshire’s stake is valued at above $30 billion.
Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It’s free.