JPMorgan Backs Bitcoin Miner IREN Over MARA in Valuation Showdown
JPMorgan has made two conflicting calls on Bitcoin miners MARA Holdings Inc. and IREN Ltd., with the bank upgrading IREN to 'Overweight' from 'Underweight' while downgrading MARA to 'Underweight' from 'Overweight'.
The bank sees a clear winner emerging in the valuation of power and data center infrastructure, with IREN's vertical integration giving it a more direct path to monetizing its power capacity. In contrast, MARA has chosen a 'capital-light strategy', which JPMorgan believes dilutes value creation from joint ventures.
IREN's stock was down over 3% in pre-market trade, but JPMorgan sees roughly 48% upside for IREN stock from Friday's close of $43. Analyst Richard Choe raised his price target on IREN to $65 from $46, calling the company a 'top-tier' neocloud provider backed by its strategic partnership with Nvidia.