RIOT Stock Rises After Clear Street Price Target Hike – CEO Flags ‘Inflection Point’ In Data Center Strategy

• Clear Street raised its price target on RIOT’s stock to $26 from $25, citing growing momentum in the company’s high-performance computing and data center business.
• The price target hike came despite Riot Platforms reporting an adjusted loss of $1.88 per share for the first quarter, higher than the $0.39 loss per share expected by Wall Street.
• Data center operations contributed $33.2 million in revenue, reflecting a growing share of the business, while Bitcoin mining remained the company's largest revenue source.

Shares of Riot Platforms (RIOT) rose in early morning trade on Friday after Clear Street raised its price target, with Chief Executive Jason Les calling the quarter a “definitive inflection point” in the company’s shift toward data center operations despite the first-quarter earnings miss.

RIOT’s stock rose 2.3% in pre-market trade, after a jump of nealry 8% in the previous session. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past day. Chatter remained at ‘high’ levels.

The move followed a price target hike from Clear Street, which raised its target to $26 from $25 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating. The firm said it remains “positive” on Riot’s outlook, citing momentum in its high-performance computing (HPC) and data center business.

‘Inflection Point’ In Riot’s Shift Toward Data Centers

The company, currently pivoting from Bitcoin (BTC) mining to data center infrastructure, reported an adjusted loss of $1.88 per share for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, which missed Wall Street’s estimate of a $0.39 loss per share, according to Koyfin data. However, revenue beat estimates, coming in at $167.2 million against expectations of $130 million. 

A key driver of the revenue mix was the company’s emerging data center segment, which contributed $33.2 million during the quarter. The company also said Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) exercised an option for an additional 25 megawatts at Riot’s Rockdale data center site, doubling AMD’s total contracted capacity to 50 megawatts of critical IT load.

“The first quarter of 2026 was a definitive inflection point in Riot's transition into one of the most significant and capable data center operators in the industry,” said Les during the Q1 earnings call.

How Are Retail Traders Feeling About RIOT’s Data Center Pivot?

Stocktwits chatter surged on Riot’s infrastructure pivot updates, with platform data showing an over 200% jump in message volume over the last 24 hours. 

Some users pointed to the expansion of Riot’s agreement with AMD as a key signal of demand for its infrastructure. Others highlighted how the shift could reduce reliance on Bitcoin mining revenue.

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Declines Amid Higher Costs, Network Difficulty

Bitcoin mining remained Riot’s largest revenue source in Q1, generating $111.9 million in Q1. However, that figure declined from $142.9 million a year earlier, reflecting lower average Bitcoin prices and higher global network hash rate.

The company mined 1,473 Bitcoin during the quarter, down slightly from 1,530 a year earlier. The average cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, rose to $44,629 from $43,808

Riot ended the quarter with 15,679 BTC, valued at about $1.1 billion based on Bitcoin’s price of $68,222 at March-end, along with $282.5 million in cash. The company said it continues to maintain strong liquidity while investing in its infrastructure strategy.

Bitcoin’s price gained 1.65% in the last 24 hours to around $77,200. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the apex cryptocurrency remained in ‘neutral’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘normal’ levels. 

Clear Street noted that its price target is based on a sum-of-the-parts framework that factors in both Riot’s legacy mining business and its growing data center operations.

RIOT’s stock has gained over 30% this year and more than doubled over the past 12 months. 

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