$CORZ

Analysts made several calls on Thursday. Goldman upgraded Sunbelt citing growth improvement. Wolfe reiterated Tesla as peer perform. Bernstein downgraded Palo Alto Networks, Okta, and SentinelOne due to valuation. Citizens upgraded JBHT to market outperform. Daiwa reiterated Nvidia as outperform but lowered its price target to $245. RBC initiated Kraft Heinz as outperform. Wells Fargo initiated several bitcoin miners as overweight. Barclays reinstated Paramount Skydance as underweight and Warner

Wells Fargo initiated coverage of four bitcoin miners with 'Overweight' ratings, focusing on AI infrastructure. Core Scientific (CORZ) gained 5% with a $28 target, citing its AMD partnership. Hut 8 (HUT) rose 4.5% with a $175 target, praised for tenant quality. Cipher Mining (CIFR) led gains with a 6% increase, noted for high risk/reward. TeraWulf (WULF) gained 5% with a $30 target, recognized for site quality.

Bitcoin miners' performance diverged from bitcoin's price over the past year, with four of the five largest miners gaining while bitcoin fell 31%. According to CoinShares, miners are increasingly leasing power contracts to AI data centers, shifting their business model. Efficient mining rigs profited, while older ones lost money. Miners like Hut 8 (HUT), Riot (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) saw significant gains. CoinShares' ETF (WGMI) expanded to include AI infrastructure names like Nebius (NBIS)

Cipher Mining (CIFR) shares rose 9% to $16.42 after ERCOT granted conditional grid capacity for 3.2 GW of its Texas projects. Core Scientific (CORZ) and IREN also gained 4% and 2%, respectively, on the news. The move is driven by ERCOT's Batch Zero process, which evaluates large-load interconnection requests. Cipher's capacity is classified as base load, subject to further verification. The sector ETF DTCR rose 1%, while the S&P 500 ETF SPY gained 0.35%.

CoinShares reported that Core Scientific (CORZ) spent $41.9M to cancel a chip order, Keel (KEEL) stopped mining, and IREN (IREN) and Cipher (CIFR) are winding down, reducing Bitcoin's network computing power by 4%. AI data centers' higher profits may incentivize miners to shift resources. Bitcoin miner stocks fell 3-4% amid the news.

CoreWeave (CRWV) expanded AI infrastructure into industrial engineering and DARPA research. Partners delivered data center capacity early, with Core Scientific, Applied Digital, and Galaxy Digital completing projects ahead of schedule. BNP Paribas maintained an Outperform rating and $154 price target, citing progress. CRWV stock fell 4.09% to $91.06 during premarket trading.

Bernstein analyzed Bitcoin miners' AI deals, finding Core Scientific's 75% ROA and 79% yield on cost are exceptional due to low upfront costs. Riot showed 23% ROA, while TeraWulf and Cipher had 5-4% ROA. Bernstein rated the sector 'Outperform' with targets: WULF $36, CIFR $32, CORZ $32, RIOT $30, CLSK $24, MARA $17.

Third Point, led by Daniel Loeb, invested in Bitcoin miners Hut 8, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, and Applied Digital, as well as Block (NYSE: XYZ), during Q2 2026. The fund increased its stake in Hut 8 to $151.8 million and opened positions in the other miners. Block reported Q2 2026 revenue of $6.62 billion and EPS of $1.02, exceeding estimates. These miners are pivoting to AI, signing major leases and deals.

VanEck reports Bitcoin miners pursuing AI opportunities face a $50B near-term funding gap. Companies like Cipher (CIFR), Hut 8 (HUT), and TeraWulf (WULF) trade at premiums based on energized power. Marathon (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK) trade at lower multiples. VanEck highlights HIVE, Bit Digital (BTBT), and others for potential upside.

IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) fell 13% after a $639M impairment charge, dragging down Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) 7%, TeraWulf (NASDAQ:WULF) 7%, and Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) 7%. IREN's revenue rose 41.1%, but net loss widened due to the impairment. Applied Digital reported $36B in contracted lease value. The selloff is concentrated in capex-heavy AI data center stocks, not broader infrastructure.