Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT) is getting some serious love from Wall Street, and it's not just about Bitcoin mining anymore. Piper Sandler just flagged the company as a favorite heading into earnings season, with a price target that implies 55% upside from Tuesday's close. The shares were up more than 2.5% on Wednesday.

The AI Angle That's Getting Analysts Excited

Here's what makes this interesting: While everyone knows Riot as a Bitcoin (BTC) miner, the real story might be what the company could do beyond crypto. Piper Sandler's $26 price target hinges on Riot's infrastructure assets, particularly its massive data center capabilities in Texas.

The company controls 1.7 gigawatts of gross power capacity across two Texas sites, and according to the analyst, these are among the most attractive AI and high-performance computing ready facilities still available on the market. That's a lot of power in a state that's become ground zero for data center development.

"Don't expect these sites to be on the market for long. We expect RIOT to announce an AI/HPC deal very soon and will be listening for incremental color on the company's 4Q25 earnings call," Piper Sandler wrote.

The firm went further, suggesting that "a deal announcement could drive significant outperformance relative to bitcoin miner peers." Translation: If Riot lands an AI partnership, it could separate itself from the pack of mining stocks that rise and fall with crypto prices.

What's Next

Riot Platforms is scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings near the end of February. Analysts are currently expecting a loss of 14 cents per share on revenue of $164.94 million.

The stock has been on a tear lately, up approximately 27.5% over the past year and rallying more than 30% just in the last month. At last check Wednesday, shares were trading 2.69% higher at $17.20.