Marathon Digital (MARA) Gets Overweight Boost from JPMorgan; IREN and Riot Slashed to Neutral

JPMorgan Repositions Bitcoin Miner Ratings on Improved Sector Outlook

JPMorgan has updated its outlook on key bitcoin mining stocks, citing second-quarter earnings, shifts in network hashrate, and a stronger bitcoin price, which hovered near $118,700 at press time.

Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) was upgraded to Overweight, with the bank raising its price target to $22 from $19—reflecting roughly 30% upside from Friday’s close just above $17.

Meanwhile, Iris Energy (IREN) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) were both downgraded to Neutral from Overweight. Despite the ratings cut, JPMorgan boosted IREN’s target to $16 from $12, and Riot’s to $15 from $14.

CleanSpark (CLSK) maintained its Overweight rating and remains the bank’s top sector pick. Its target was increased to $15 from $14, suggesting about 30% upside from Friday’s close near $12.

Cipher Mining (CIFR), which is unrated, was assigned a new price target of $6.

“In a shift, we favor the pure-play operators within our coverage universe, as they offer the best relative value and are best positioned to benefit from a rising bitcoin price,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote in the note.

The analysts also cited improved bitcoin mining economics—driven by higher BTC prices—as a key reason for the sector-wide upward revision in targets.