Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Upgraded to Buy as HPC Momentum Builds: B. Riley

Investment bank B. Riley upgraded Core Scientific (CORZ) to buy from neutral, and raised its price target on the shares to $30 from $17, citing strong standalone value and renewed momentum in high-performance computing (HPC).

The bank's analysts expect shareholders to reject Core Scientific's proposed merger with CoreWeave (CRWV) s, noting the stock has lagged peers despite being an early mover into HPC.

Buy-rated TeraWulf (WULF) remains B. Riley’s top pick, with its target raised to $22 from $14.

The firm cited WULF’s more than 400 MW in customer agreements and roughly $4 billion in capital commitments, positioning it to benefit from ongoing AI-related infrastructure growth.

As part of a broader sector revaluation, the analysts raised price targets for HPC names by an average of 78% and increased 2026 estimates by 5%, highlighting soaring demand for power and data center capacity driven by AI deals, according to the report on Wednesday.

The bank lifted its Riot Platforms (RIOT) price target to $28 from $16, while reiterating its buy rating on the stock. Buy-rated IREN's (IREN) price objective was raised to $74 from $29. Bitdeer's (BTDR) target was increased to $32 from $17, buy rating maintained. Bitfarms (BITF), also rated at buy, received a price target increase to $7 from $3.

The group has rebounded 418% since April, and recent pullbacks of around 15% offer re-entry points, the report noted.

Crypto-related stocks, particularly bitcoin miners turned AI infrastructure plays, suffered heavy losses on Wednesday.

Core Scientific shares were down 10%, TeraWulf, Riot, IREN and Bitdeer all fell 8-9%. Bitfarms was the worst performer, down 15% at publication time.

Read more: CoreWeave CEO Stands Firm on $9B Core Scientific Offer as Shareholder Opposition Mounts