IREN Shares Rise as H.C. Wainwright Upgrades Stock to Buy

Core Viewpoint - IREN's stock was upgraded to Buy from Sell by H.C. Wainwright, with a price target of $80, highlighting 2026 as a transformative year due to AI infrastructure spending [1] Group 1: AI Infrastructure and Contracts - IREN secured a $9.7 billion, five-year AI cloud agreement with Microsoft, one of the largest contracts for a bitcoin miner, expected to generate approximately $1.94 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026 [2] - The deal will be fully monetized once 200 megawatts of critical IT capacity are deployed at the Childress site [2] Group 2: Growth Potential and Financials - IREN has a development pipeline of over 2 gigawatts of incremental capacity expected to be energized by 2027, providing opportunities for AI cloud growth and colocation [3] - The stock has fallen about 35% from its November 2025 highs, creating an attractive entry point, while IREN raised $2.3 billion through convertible offerings, increasing its cash balance to $1.8 billion as of October 2025 for AI data center expansion [3]