Bitcoin miners under mixed spotlight as JPM changes ratings

Shares of bitcoin miners MARA Holdings MARA.O, IREN Ltd IREN.O and Riot Platforms RIOT.O up between ~1% and ~3% in premarket trading

J.P.Morgan upgrades MARA to "overweight" from "neutral"; raises PT to $22 from $19

JPM says MARA's approach focused on investing in mining machines rather than owning much of its infrastructure, leading to higher variable costs like electricity and hosting fees

Downgrades IREN and RIOT to "neutral" from "overweight"; raises IREN PT to $16 from $12, and RIOT to $15 from $14

Brokerage believes further upside for IREN and Riot will likely depend on either a rise in bitcoin prices or securing high-performance computing (HPC) deals, though the timing of such deals remains uncertain

"We favor the pure-play operators within our coverage universe, as they offer the best relative value (HPC names feel a little stretched, particularly in light of long and unpredictable sales cycles), and are best positioned to benefit from a rising bitcoin price" — brokerage

Up to last day's close, MARA, IREN and RIOT were up ~3%, ~80% and ~42% YTD, respectively