Cantor Fitzgerald Raises Hut 8 Price Target to $72 Following $7 Billion AI Data Center Lease
Hut 8 has signed a $7 billion, 15-year lease agreement with Fluidstack for AI data center capacity totaling 245 MW at its River Bend data center in Louisiana. Google is backing the deal and will cover the lease payments as well as operating costs including energy, maintenance, and taxes, providing strong credit support for the contract.
Cantor Fitzgerald has responded positively to the deal by raising Hut 8's price target from $64 to $72. Canaccord Genuity also increased its price target from $54 to $62 and valued the River Bend site at $22 per share, up from $14, as part of its revised assessment.
Brett Knoblauch from Cantor highlighted the significant aspects of the contract, noting the 15-year term, a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.35, and a projected net operating income of $6.9 billion over the base term. There are three 5-year renewal options available, which could increase the total contract value to $17.7 billion.
Hut 8 currently has 900 MW under development and an additional 1,255 MW under exclusivity, positioning the company to scale beyond its traditional cryptocurrency focus. Following the announcement, Hut 8's stock saw a rise of about 1.8% in premarket trading after a 9% gain in the previous session.
