Iren Stock Volatility Amid Rising AI Demand
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 3h ago
0mins
Should l Buy IREN?
Source: Fool
- Significant Stock Volatility: Iren's stock has experienced multiple swings of over 10% in recent days as it approaches its earnings report on February 5, with a year-to-date increase of over 20%, reflecting strong market interest in AI data centers.
- Massive Demand Potential: Iren's primary customers are large tech companies requiring multiple gigawatts of power, such as Meta and Microsoft, the latter of which plans to deploy hundreds of gigawatts of AI power over the coming decades, further driving demand for Iren's services.
- Project Progress Ahead: Iren has a 3-gigawatt power pipeline, with its Sweetwater 1 project set to energize in April, providing 1.4 gigawatts of capacity, which positions it significantly ahead of other AI data center providers and strengthens its competitive standing in the industry.
- Partnership with Microsoft: The $9.7 billion five-year deal with Microsoft, which includes a 20% prepayment, will help fund Iren's capital expenditures, with a target of $3.4 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026, showcasing its credibility and growth potential in the AI sector.
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Analyst Views on IREN
Wall Street analysts forecast IREN stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IREN is 80.40 USD with a low forecast of 39.00 USD and a high forecast of 136.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
12 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
2 Hold
2 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 53.080
Low
39.00
Averages
80.40
High
136.00
Current: 53.080
Low
39.00
Averages
80.40
High
136.00
About IREN
IREN Limited is an Australia-based company, which owns and operates data centers powered by 100% renewable energy. Its facilities are optimized for Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence (AI) cloud services, and other power-dense compute. Its data center mining facilities are in Canal Flats, Mackenzie, Prince George and Childress. Bitcoin Mining provides security to the Bitcoin network. Al Cloud Services provides cloud compute to Al customers, approximately 1,896 NVIDIA H100 and H200 GPUs. Its Canal Flats facility is in the Canadian Rockies, 100 kilometers (km) from Cranbrook regional airport and 500km east of Vancouver. Its facility is in Prince George, the city in northern British Columbia, located 500 km north of Vancouver. Its facility is located in Childress County, Texas, over 250 miles northwest of Dallas and in close proximity to multiple wind and solar generating facilities in the region. Its Childress operations comprise 200 Mega Watt of operating data centers.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Significant Stock Volatility: Iren's stock has experienced multiple swings of over 10% in recent days as it approaches its earnings report on February 5, with a year-to-date increase of over 20%, reflecting strong market interest in AI data centers.
- Massive Demand Potential: Iren's primary customers are large tech companies requiring multiple gigawatts of power, such as Meta and Microsoft, the latter of which plans to deploy hundreds of gigawatts of AI power over the coming decades, further driving demand for Iren's services.
- Project Progress Ahead: Iren has a 3-gigawatt power pipeline, with its Sweetwater 1 project set to energize in April, providing 1.4 gigawatts of capacity, which positions it significantly ahead of other AI data center providers and strengthens its competitive standing in the industry.
- Partnership with Microsoft: The $9.7 billion five-year deal with Microsoft, which includes a 20% prepayment, will help fund Iren's capital expenditures, with a target of $3.4 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026, showcasing its credibility and growth potential in the AI sector.
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- iShares Silver Trust Performance: With a current price of $80.65 and a year-to-date return of +22.6%, it narrowly trailed Tesla for second place in January, suggesting increasing investor interest in precious metals that may lead to future capital inflows.
- Tech Stock Dynamics: Meta and Apple rose three and one spots respectively, with current prices of $697.54 and $268.87, reflecting the sustained appeal of large tech stocks in the market, which may affect investors' portfolio choices.
- Market Trend Observation: Despite declines in NVIDIA and Invesco QQQ Trust, the rising interest in Silver ETFs suggests that investors may reassess the value of tech stocks while seeking diversified investments.
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- Capital Expenditure Focus: Amazon is set to report its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings on February 5, with investors particularly keen on capital expenditures (capex), as big tech has collectively spent hundreds of billions on GPUs and data centers over the past three years, indicating a strong commitment to AI infrastructure.
- Cloud Capacity Expansion: As the largest cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is rapidly expanding its data center capabilities to meet the surging demand for AI workloads; however, the pace of building and equipping these centers is at odds with the growth rate of workloads, creating a potential bottleneck.
- Strategic Partnership Agreement: AWS signed a $5.5 billion multiyear deal with neocloud provider Cipher Mining, aimed at providing cloud access to GPU clusters for capacity-constrained companies, which will enhance AWS's competitive edge in the AI sector.
- Industry Trend Analysis: With Nvidia's $2 billion investment in CoreWeave and a $9.7 billion agreement with Iren, it is evident that major tech firms are actively positioning themselves in the neocloud space, making Iren a top neocloud stock with potential to attract more hyperscalers in the future.
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- Palantir Earnings Focus: Palantir is set to report earnings after Monday's close, with investors closely monitoring its commercial customer count and average revenue per customer, as these metrics reflect the adoption of its AI platforms beyond government contracts, impacting its high valuation sustainability.
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- Google Cloud Competitiveness: Investors will keep an eye on Google Cloud's momentum and the successful monetization of Gemini AI within search and YouTube to ensure the company maintains its competitive edge against AI rivals, especially in light of its massive capital expenditure plans for AI infrastructure.
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- Market Performance Comparison: Iren's stock has surged over 400% in the past year, while Applied Digital has seen a remarkable 500% increase, highlighting both companies' strong performance in the AI infrastructure sector that has captivated investors.
- Financial Highlights: Iren recently secured a $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with Microsoft, with net income improving from a loss of $51.7 million in the previous year to a gain of $384.6 million in Q1 of fiscal 2026, indicating the success of its business pivot.
- Business Model Differences: Iren retains the flexibility to switch between cryptocurrency and high-performance computing, while Applied Digital focuses on building high-performance data centers and offering long-term leases, allowing it to capitalize on more predictable cash flows.
- Investor Considerations: For investors seeking cash flow predictability, Applied Digital may be more appealing, whereas Iren is suited for those with a higher risk tolerance due to its flexibility and potential for significant returns.
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- Successful Strategic Shift: Iren has signed a $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with Microsoft, marking a successful transition from Bitcoin mining to AI data center services, which is expected to further drive revenue growth and enhance market competitiveness.
- Significant Financial Improvement: Iren's net income improved from a loss of $51.7 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year to a gain of $384.6 million in Q1 of fiscal 2026, demonstrating strong growth potential in the AI infrastructure sector.
- Outstanding Market Performance: Iren's stock has surged over 400% in the past 12 months, while Applied Digital's stock has increased by over 500%, reflecting strong demand for AI infrastructure and positive investor sentiment.
- Future Growth Potential: Applied Digital's backlog has reached $16 billion, with a 250% revenue increase in its latest quarter, indicating that the company's business model in high-performance data centers can generate predictable long-term cash flows, attracting more investor interest.
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