Bernstein, a research and brokerage firm, recently evaluated several key players in the cryptocurrency mining sector. According to a published Bitcoin (BTC) mining report card, Bernstein rated Riot Platforms (RIOT), CleanSpark (CLSK), Iris Energy (IREN), and Core Scientific as “outperform.” These ratings indicate Bernstein’s confidence in these companies’ ability to surpass market expectations and deliver solid returns for investors.
Outperform and Market Perform Categories
The assessment was grounded in several critical factors: production capabilities, operational efficiency, power management, and hash costs. Bernstein’s analysis suggests that Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, IREN, and Core Scientific have optimized their production processes and are effectively managing operational challenges, such as energy consumption and hash rate efficiency. In addition to these operational metrics, Bernstein also considered the companies’ strategies concerning artificial intelligence (AI). Integrating AI into their operations was viewed as a significant factor contributing to their “outperform” ratings. On the other hand, Bernstein rated Marathon Digital as a “market performer.” He affirmed that Marathon Digital, Core Scientific, and CleanSpark are the largest bitcoin producers. Core Scientific and CleanSpark have the highest realized hash rate. Meanwhile, Riot has lower production and efficiency. However, it compensated for this with power credits and improved production efficiency last month.
Bitcoin Mining Profitability Rebounds
Notably, June saw a slight recovery from the early effect of the Bitcoin halving, which had a huge impact in May. In terms of production, US-listed mining businesses boosted the amount of new Bitcoins in June, accounting for 20.8% of the overall network, up from 19.1% in May. Marathon Digital led the pack, mining 590 Bitcoin in June despite a 4% drop from May. CleanSpark mined 445 Bitcoins, representing a 7% increase from the previous month. Moreover, Marathon Digital’s installed hashrate remains the highest among US-listed miners, at 31.5 exahashes per second (EH/s). Riot platform (RIOT) follows with a hashrate of 22 exahashes per second (EH/s).
New Price Target
Meanwhile, a recent study report from Jefferies Investment Bank revealed a change in the price targets for many Bitcoin mining companies. The bank decreases Marathon Digital’s price estimate from $24 to $22. Similarly, it reduced its price estimate for Argo Blockchain ADRs (ARBK) from $1.50 to $1.20 and for its U.K. traded shares (ARB) from 11.90p (12 cents) to 9.5p. Despite these changes, Jefferies maintained its hold rating for the business. One ADR is equivalent to ten shares, demonstrating the magnitude of these changes. Bitcoin is trading around $58,498.68, down by more than 8.18% in the last 30 days. The largest cryptocurrency achieved its all-time high of $73,750 on March 14, weeks before the halving event.
Bernstein’s evaluation highlights current trends and challenges in the bitcoin mining sector, focusing on the companies’ performance and strategies. These insights can serve as indicators for further monitoring and analysis by investors.
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