JPMorgan continues to recommend Riot after Core Scientific report

JPMorgan thinks CoreWeave’s (CRWV) potential acquisition of Core Scientific (CORZ) could serve as a “mark-to-market” on the value of high performance computing infrastructure near major metro areas, which is most relevant to Riot Platforms (RIOT). Riot owns 1.7 GWs less than 60 miles from Austin and Dallas, but trades at a meaningful discount to Core Scientific and peers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan continues to recommend Riot, and argues the company offers the most attractive relative value of any miner in its coverage universe. Core Scientific owns and operates 200 MWs 40 miles outside Dallas and another 200 MWs less than 100 miles outside Atlanta, making it a good proxy for valuing HPC sites near major metro areas, contends the firm. It estimates Core Scientific trades $4.8M per energized MW, representing a material premium to pure-play operators like Mara Holdings (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK), and other miners pursuing HPC deals like Riot, Cipher Mining (CIFR) and IREN (IREN).