New York, Jan 16, 2026, 17:18 ET — After-hours
- IREN shares surged late in U.S. trading on heavy volume, pushing higher after a volatile January.
- Traders highlighted a bullish call from H.C. Wainwright, noting IREN’s pivot to AI cloud and its new Microsoft deal.
- Next, investors will watch earnings reports and any fresh AI client acquisitions for clues on the market’s next move.
IREN Limited shares surged roughly 11.5% to $57.82 in after-hours trading Friday, following an intraday range from $51.94 up to $58.74. Trading volume hit around 53.7 million shares.
This move is significant as IREN operates where two heated trades collide — AI data centers and crypto — and investors have swiftly revalued anything linked to limited computing power. With stocks like this, a single broker call can still pack a punch.
Investors are wrestling with what IREN’s valuation looks like as it shifts away from pure bitcoin mining and dives into selling AI computing power. The big question: will those contracts translate into steady revenue streams, or remain distant promises with lengthy lead times?
H.C. Wainwright’s Mike Colonnese surprised the market by raising IREN from “sell” to “buy,” boosting his price target to $80. He called this the setup for “a transformative year,” according to TipRanks. Notably, Colonnese said Microsoft’s five-year AI contract with the bitcoin miner hasn’t yet been priced in, labeling it “one of the largest AI contracts to date” between a bitcoin miner and a blue-chip client. 1
IREN last updated on its Microsoft deal in November, revealing a $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with phased deployments at its Childress site through 2026 and a 20% customer prepayment. The company aims for $3.4 billion in AI-cloud annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026, driven by an expansion to 140,000 GPUs—the chips powering AI model training and operation. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts said the partnership “solidifies IREN’s position” as an AI cloud service provider. 2
Bitcoin barely moved on Friday, slipping just 0.4% to $95,328. Crypto-related stocks, however, saw a broad uptick in late trading. Riot Platforms surged roughly 16%, Marathon Digital added about 6.6%, and CleanSpark rose close to 5%.
The split-screen view is crucial for IREN. Some investors see it as a miner tied to the coin’s swings, while others bet on it as an AI infrastructure play, backed by long-term contracts and hefty capex.
The key risk lies in execution. Delays in build-outs, a drop in AI compute pricing, or slower-than-expected customer demand could quickly erode gains. Plus, a sharp bitcoin sell-off remains a wildcard that could sour sentiment across the sector.
Traders are now focused on fresh AI client announcements and deployment updates, while keeping an eye on whether the recent volume spike cools off as broker chatter dies down.
IREN’s next earnings report is set for Feb. 11, according to Zacks, which bases the date on the company’s usual timing. 3
