Highlights

Core Scientific has been upgraded by B. Riley to a 'buy' status with an increased price target of $30, recognizing strong intrinsic value and rejuvenated momentum in high-performance computing (HPC). TeraWulf remains the firm's top pick, with its price target lifted to $22 due to significant AI-driven infrastructure growth. Other notable price target increases include 418% sector rebound since April with key price hits for Riot, IREN, Bitdeer, and Bitfarms.

Sentiment Analysis

• The decision by B. Riley to upgrade Core Scientific reflects optimism towards the company's HPC potential.
• The upgrading sentiment is overall positive, as expressed with increased price targets.
• Despite recent dips in share prices, the overall sentiment leans towards positive long-term growth predictions.

Article Text

Investment bank B. Riley has raised Core Scientific's status to 'buy', increasing its price target significantly to $30, underlining a strong focus on standalone value and a renewed thrust in the high-performance computing sector. Core Scientific, an early mover in the HPC sector, shows potential despite a lag in performance compared to its peers, and B. Riley foresees shareholders likely rejecting the proposed merger with CoreWeave.

B. Riley's attention is equally set on TeraWulf, denoting it as their top selection within crypto-related stocks formed by AI infrastructure advancements. The investment firm raised TeraWulf's price target to $22, from $14, citing substantial customer agreements and substantial capital commitments, thus illustrating its readiness to ride the AI-fuelled HPC growth wave.

Amidst their broad sector appraisal, the analysts at B. Riley have augmented the price targets for several HPC firms by as much as 78%, while augmenting 2026 forecasts upward by 5% — a testimony to the escalating need for power-intensive data centers due to AI engagements. Significant among the firms, Riot Platforms saw a price increase to $28, alongside increased objectives for IREN, Bitdeer, and Bitfarms.

Despite these positive recalibrations, cryptocurrency stocks, especially those transitioning to AI infrastructure roles, faced downturns. Core Scientific shares, TeraWulf, Riot, IREN and Bitdeer saw notable declines between 8% and 10%, with Bitfarms experiencing a significant 15% drop.

Meanwhile, Tesla's bitcoin assets remained unchanged through the third quarter; however, an upward price trajectory allowed Tesla to register an $80 million gain. Although Tesla surpassed revenue projects, the figures fell short of consensus estimates on adjusted EPS, causing a slight fall in post-trading share value.

Key Insights Table