New York, Jan 14, 2026, 11:55 EST — Regular session
- IREN shares gained roughly 0.8% during late-morning trading on the Nasdaq.
- H.C. Wainwright raised its price target to $80 and upgraded the stock to Buy.
- Bitcoin jumped roughly 4%, boosting several crypto-related stocks.
IREN Limited shares ticked up Wednesday following H.C. Wainwright’s upgrade to Buy and a price target boost to $80. The stock climbed 0.8% to $53.42 by 11:40 a.m. EST, swinging between $50.89 and $54.11 earlier.
The upgrade is crucial since IREN operates in two volatile sectors: bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure. When bitcoin surges or funding loosens, investors often favor companies with power and data-center assets — at least for a while.
IREN has emerged as a key example of how fast a miner can pivot to offering rented computing power. This transition holds the potential upside, but it’s also where execution risks tend to accumulate.
Bitcoin climbed 4.1% to roughly $97,459, giving a boost to several crypto stocks. Riot Platforms jumped 5.3%, Marathon Digital added 3.1%, and Coinbase rose 3.3%. Core Scientific, however, dipped 0.7%.
IREN’s business remains tied to crypto economics. Bitcoin mining involves validating network transactions to earn bitcoin, which miners then sell for cash. But margins can shrink fast if power costs rise or bitcoin prices drop.
The company is ramping up its push into “AI Cloud,” renting out GPU capacity for training and running AI models. In a November filing, IREN revealed a multi-year deal with Microsoft worth around $9.7 billion, which includes a 20% prepayment. There’s also a roughly $5.8 billion contract with Dell for Nvidia GB300 GPUs and related equipment. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts called the Microsoft deal a “milestone partnership,” while Microsoft’s Jonathan Tinter described the collaboration as “delivering cutting-edge AI infrastructure.” The filing also spells out termination rights if delivery deadlines aren’t met.
Yet that same operating leverage tempting traders can quickly backfire. A dip in bitcoin, setbacks in launching AI capacity, or fresh risk-off selling hitting high-growth stocks might weigh on the shares—particularly since spending is heavily front-loaded.
The next key event is the company’s upcoming quarterly report; MarketBeat shows Feb. 11 (post-close) as the expected earnings date, but notes IREN hasn’t officially confirmed it. (Marketbeat)
