Riot Platforms is likely to see significant upside from its new powered land lease, according to Jefferies. The investment firm upgraded the digital infrastructure stock to buy from hold. It also hiked its price target to $28 from $13, implying 59% upside from Monday’s close. “We are upgrading RIOT to BUY on a Corsicana lease with highly favorable economics (avg. 33% yield),” analyst Jonathan Petersen said in a note to clients. “The powered land lease lets RIOT monetize the site with less execution and financing risk. It also cuts capex to $6M per IT [megawatts] versus $11-15M for a typical data center build.” RIOT YTD mountain RIOT year to date The powered land lease will be valid for 15 years, beginning in September 2027.The agreement will earn 33% average yield per year at half the usual capital, he added. Riot can fund the project with project debt or by a tenant in exchange for a rent credit. “We see RIOT’s Corsicana deal as a reset for the market,” the analyst wrote. “Pairing ready power with the tenant’s modular solution improves speed to market, while the powered-land structure reduces RIOT’s capital needs and shifts meaningful execution risk to the tenant.” Jefferies’ call falls in line with consensus on Wall Street. All 23 analysts covering Riot have a buy or strong buy on the stock, LSEG data shows. Shares have jumped 39% year to date.
