Benchmark Sees Hut 8 as Bitcoin–AI Infrastructure Play, Raises Price Target to $78
Benchmark has more than doubled its price target for Hut 8 (HUT) to $78 from $36, citing the company’s successful transformation from a pure-play bitcoin miner into a diversified energy and AI infrastructure provider.
In a report released Tuesday, analyst Mark Palmer reaffirmed a buy rating, pointing to the firm’s expanding power generation capacity, its 64% stake in American Bitcoin Corp. (ABTC), and 10,264 BTC holdings as of June 30. Hut 8 shares were down 0.7% at $38.57 in early trading.
Palmer called Hut 8 a “flexible call option” on the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and bitcoin, highlighting the company’s efforts under CEO Asher Genoot to secure and deploy low-cost energy infrastructure. Hut 8 currently has 1,530 megawatts (MW) of capacity under development, with much of it aimed at powering AI and HPC workloads.
Benchmark said investors have embraced the company’s pivot, with Hut 8’s stock up more than fourfold in the past six months. Even so, Palmer argued that the company’s intrinsic value continues to exceed its market capitalization.
Upcoming catalysts include a potential tenant announcement at the River Bend site in Louisiana and the replication of the firm’s Vega data center model in Texas.
Benchmark also highlighted 1,255 MW under exclusivity and 6,815 MW under diligence, neither of which were included in its valuation model. The report noted that Hut 8’s estimated $6 million per MW cost is roughly 50% below peer averages, underscoring its cost efficiency and expansion potential.
