Observed Signal · Nov 10, 2026 · Analyst Upgrade · Source: CNBC Investing · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Jefferies Upgrades Riot Platforms to Buy, Price Target $28
Jefferies upgraded Riot Platforms, a digital infrastructure and Bitcoin mining company, to 'Buy' from 'Hold', setting a new price target of $28, implying about 59% upside from the previous close. The upgrade is driven by a 15-year powered land lease at the Corsicana site, which began in September 2027, expected to yield an average of 33% annually at half the typical capital cost. The lease reduces execution and financing risk by shifting them to the tenant, with capital expenditure lowered to $6 million per IT megawatt compared to $11-15 million for typical data center builds. Analyst Jonathan Petersen views the Corsicana deal as a market reset, combining ready power with modular solutions for faster speed to market. All 23 analysts covering Riot currently rate it a buy or strong buy, and the stock is up 39% year-to-date.
The upgrade of Riot Platforms, a digital infrastructure and Bitcoin mining company, reflects growing confidence in data center monetization models leveraging powered land leases. This signals a notable shift in how digital infrastructure assets are valued, which is relevant to AdTech and MarTech sectors that increasingly rely on data center capacity for AI and programmatic advertising.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Jefferies upgraded Riot Platforms to 'Buy' from 'Hold' and raised its price target to $28 from $13.
- The new price target implies 59% upside from the previous close.
- Riot's Corsicana powered land lease is valid for 15 years, starting in September 2027, and is expected to yield an average of 33% per year.
- The lease reduces capital expenditure to $6 million per IT megawatt compared to $11-15 million for typical data center builds.
- All 23 analysts covering Riot rate the stock as 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy'.
Connected Companies & Entities
“The investment firm upgraded the digital infrastructure stock to buy from hold.”
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Riot signs $9.1B Anthropic AI compute deal
Riot Platforms has signed a 20-year compute lease with Anthropic that is expected to generate $9.1 billion in revenue and will lease 191 megawatts at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus. The contract could grow to about $16.1 billion if extended by two additional five-year options. The deal follows Riot’s existing agreement with Advanced Micro Devices, creating a two-tenant campus with roughly $9.8 billion of contracted data-center revenue, according to Compass Point analyst Michael Donovan. The transaction highlights a broader industry shift where many publicly traded bitcoin miners are pivoting from solely producing bitcoin to monetizing grid-connected power and data-center capacity as AI demand surges. The article notes hybrid miners such as Cipher Mining, Hut 8 and Terawulf, while Riot, Mara Holdings and CleanSpark remain more pure-play miners.
Jefferies Bullish on Iren After 500% Gain
Jefferies initiated coverage of AI infrastructure company Iren with a Buy rating and a $79 price target, saying the firm is well-positioned after pivoting from bitcoin mining to a vertically integrated GPU cloud provider. Analyst Jonathan Petersen highlighted Iren’s large powered land bank (~6 GW), ownership of land and data centers, and secured deals with hyperscalers including Microsoft and Nvidia that the firm says underpin $3.1 billion in annual recurring revenue. Shares have surged about 493% over the past 12 months. Jefferies’ view aligns with Wall Street consensus: 10 of 15 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy per LSEG data.
JPMorgan Double Upgrades IREN Stock on Nvidia Deal
JPMorgan double upgraded IREN, an AI infrastructure and data center company, from underweight to overweight, raising its price target to $65 from $46. Analyst Richard Choe cited IREN's strategic partnership with Nvidia and improved pricing power for neocloud contracts, now valued at $15-$20 per watt compared to previous $10-$15. IREN, formerly a bitcoin miner, plans substantial capex but JPMorgan believes higher-priced contracts will be accretive. The upgrade aligns with consensus as 14 of 17 analysts rate the stock a buy or strong buy.
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