Core Scientific Sale Sets Floor Price for Bitcoin Miners: JPMorgan

AI infrastructure firm CoreWeave’s (CRWV) deal to buy Core Scientific (CORZ) will raise the valuation floor for bitcoin (BTC) mining stocks but is unlikely to be replicated, Wall Street bank JPMorgan said in a research report Tuesday.

“Much like the company’s first HPC deal with CoreWeave announced last summer, the terms and purchase price appear to be a one-off,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.

CoreWeave said Monday it had agreed to buy Core Scientific in an all-stock transaction valuing the bitcoin miner at about $20.40 per share, based on recent closing prices.

The bank’s analysts noted that Core Scientific closed at around a 25% discount to the deal terms the day the takeover was announced. Given the year-end projected close, the analysts said this seemed appropriate.

B.Riley downgraded Core Scientific from buy to neutral with an unchanged $17 price target, the broker said in a research report Wednesday.

The investment firm said its price target takes into account the volatility in CoreWeave shares and the 6-month projected close for the deal.