New York, January 13, 2026, 18:41 EST — After-hours
IREN Limited (Nasdaq: IREN) shares jumped roughly 5.3%, closing at $52.99 in after-hours trading Tuesday. The move followed a double upgrade to Buy from H.C. Wainwright, which also boosted the price target sharply—from $56 up to $80. Analyst Mike Colonnese described IREN as “the most levered exposure across our coverage universe to this theme,” adding that “the stage is set for a transformative year.” 1
This call is crucial since IREN operates at the tangled crossroads of bitcoin mining and data-center power for artificial intelligence. Investors have been scrambling to identify which miners can still profit from bitcoin while tapping into AI-driven power and compute sales.
In November, IREN announced a $9.7 billion, five-year AI Cloud deal with Microsoft, aiming for $3.4 billion in annualized AI Cloud run-rate revenue (ARR) by the close of 2026. Wainwright expects full monetization by then, as 200 megawatts (MW) of IT capacity comes online at Childress. He also pointed to a pipeline exceeding 2 gigawatts (GW) of additional capacity slated for energization by 2027. 2
Bitcoin climbed roughly 4.4% to hit $95,155, giving a boost to miners tied to the crypto sector.
Late trading saw mostly gains among peers: Marathon Digital climbed roughly 2.7%, Riot Platforms increased around 1.9%, and CleanSpark jumped about 4.8%.
IREN, an Australian firm, runs renewable-powered data centers tailored for bitcoin mining and AI cloud services. Their sites include Canal Flats, Mackenzie, and Prince George in Canada, plus Childress in Texas, according to Reuters data. The company’s AI cloud division serves clients using roughly 1,896 Nvidia H100 and H200 GPUs. 3
A December SEC filing revealed IREN wrapped up a $2.3 billion convertible notes offering and bought back roughly $544.3 million of its existing convertible notes. The move was partly financed by a placement of 39.7 million shares priced at $41.12 each. Convertible notes refer to debt that can turn into equity if specific conditions are met.
Still, the stock stays a high-beta play. It’s prone to sharp moves alongside bitcoin and shifts in forecasts about how quickly power capacity translates into contracted AI revenue.
Investors will be watching closely to see if the after-hours gains stick when markets open Wednesday, and for any news on deployments at Childress. The next major event on the calendar is IREN’s quarterly earnings report, due Feb. 11, according to Zacks. 4
