Shares of Riot Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) are up 4.8% to trade at $18.52 this morning, extending their recent rally after Jefferies upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold" and more than doubled its price target to $28 from $13. The new target represents a roughly 60% premium to Monday night's close. JPMorgan Securities also raised its price target to $28, while maintaining its "overweight" rating.
Driving today's note is Riot's 15-year lease with an anonymous AI developer at its Corsicana campus, valued at $28 billion. This was a record term signing for the data center concern, which is expected to go live within the next two years.
Should these gains hold, RIOT will be headed for its fifth daily win in six sessions and first close above $18 since Oct. 7 after bouncing off familiar support at the $12 level. Year to date, the shares are up 46%.
Options traders are betting on more upside. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), RIOT's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.60 ranks in the 99th percentile of its annual range. Echoing this, Riot Platforms stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.35 ranks in the 13th percentile of its 12-month range.
There is still short covering potential, too. Short interest accounts for 6.5% of the stock's available float, representing more than three days' worth of buying power at FROG's average daily trading volume.
