Benchmark Raises Hut 8 Price Target to $165 on $16.8B AI Data Center Deals
What happened: Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer nearly doubled his price target for Hut 8 (HUT) to $165, citing $16.
What happened: Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer nearly doubled his price target for Hut 8 (HUT) to $165, citing $16.8 billion in contracted lease value from two major AI data center deals. The company’s Beacon Point campus in Texas secured a $9.8B, 352 MW lease, while River Bend in Louisiana added a $7B lease with Fluidstack, backed by Google. Hut 8’s stock had fallen around 30% over the previous six weeks despite these developments.
Why it matters: The move signals a major pivot for Hut 8 from pure-play Bitcoin mining to becoming a "power-first data center REIT" with a strong AI infrastructure focus. The scale and duration of these contracts (15 years, take-or-pay) provide significant revenue visibility and may change investor perceptions of the company’s risk profile. However, the recent stock drawdown suggests the market remains cautious about execution and sector volatility.