Bernstein boosts IREN target to $100 after NVIDIA deal

Bernstein raised its price target on IREN to $100 after the company announced a long-term strategic partnership with NVIDIA that includes a $3.4 billion AI cloud contract and an equity option allowing NVIDIA to invest $2.1 billion at $70 per share. IREN shares closed at $56.85 on May 7, and Bernstein’s target implies roughly 76% upside from that level.

The research note, led by analyst Gautam Chhugani, described the agreement as a technology and capital alignment between IREN and NVIDIA. Bernstein wrote that the partnership ties NVIDIA to IREN’s planned 2GW Sweetwater flagship site and is intended to secure GPU supply as hardware moves to next-generation platforms.

Bernstein’s analysts said IREN remains on track to deliver the 200MW Horizon data center project for Microsoft, with the first 50MW facility scheduled for the third quarter. The firm expects IREN to deploy capacity across British Columbia and Childress, Texas to support AI cloud deployments under existing Microsoft and NVIDIA contracts.

The note highlighted IREN’s $625 million acquisition of Mirantis and described the deal as adding software capabilities that enable managed GPU services and orchestration for enterprise customers. Bernstein characterized the acquisition as part of IREN’s transition from offering bare-metal infrastructure to operating a vertically integrated cloud business.

Bernstein projected AI cloud annual recurring revenue of $3.7 billion by calendar year 2026 under its assumptions for Microsoft and NVIDIA-backed deployments. The analysts reiterated an Outperform rating on IREN and cautioned that the company still needs to secure an anchor client and broader enterprise customers for the Sweetwater site.

On the broader market opportunity, Bernstein wrote: “The datacenter opportunity is enormous, and still early, with material upside still possible.” The client note disclosed that Gautam Chhugani holds long positions in various cryptocurrencies.