Bitcoin Miner Iris Rises as Compass Point Upgrades on Potential Boost in Hashrate

Compass Point’s analyst upgraded Iris’ stock to a buy recommendation from a neutral.

By Michael Bellusci

Sep 14, 2022 at 2:52 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2022 at 3:16 p.m. UTC

Mining, Bitcoin miners, fans (Michal Bednarek/Shutterstock) — (Michal Bednarek/Shutterstock)

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter

Shares of bitcoin miner Iris Energy (IREN) sharply rose Wednesday after research firm Compass Point upgraded its stock recommendation to buy from neutral.

Analyst Chase White said in a note to clients that IREN has potential to boost its contracted hashrate – and thus increase its bitcoin production – if the company can secure additional computing power at low cost, as it did with Bitmain in August.

White also expects that if Iris can execute its strategy, its stock can trade at a premium versus other small-cap miners.

IREN was trading hands at $4.59 at press time, up nearly 8% on the day. Compass Point has a price target of $6.50/share.

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