Bitcoin Miner MARA Holdings Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; IREN and Riot Cut to Neutral

Wall Street bank JPMorgan reshuffled ratings and price targets on a group of bitcoin miners to begin the week.

Updating estimates for the group to reflect second-quarter earnings and changes to the network hashrate and the bitcoin price, the bank upgraded MARA Holdings (MARA) to overweight and lifted its price target to $22 from $19, suggesting about 30% upside from the Friday close just above $17.

IREN (IREN) was downgraded to neutral from overweight, though the price target was lifted to $16 from $12. Riot Platforms (RIOT) was also cut to neutral from overweight, and its target increased to $15 from $14.

Overweight rated CleanSpark (CLSK) is the bank's top pick, with a raised price target of $15 versus $14 previous, suggesting about 30% upside from the close just below $12 on Friday.

Unrated Cipher Mining (CIFR) has a new price objective of $6.

"In a shift, we favor the pure-play operators within our coverage universe, as they offer the best relative value, and are best positioned to benefit from a rising bitcoin price," analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.

Miner price targets have been increased to account for higher bitcoin prices and improving mining profitability, the authors continued.

The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading around $118,700 at publication time.

Read more: Core Scientific Sale Sets Floor Price for Bitcoin Miners: JPMorgan