Benchmark sees ‘long pathway for growth’ in Hut 8, raises target to $165 on $16.8 billion AI data center deals

Benchmark Equity Research raised its price target for Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) to $165 from $85, citing the company’s commercialization of its Beacon Point AI data center campus and $16.8 billion in contracted value across two AI infrastructure leases.

Hut 8 shares were trading at around $97 on Tuesday, according to The Block's HUT price page. Benchmark’s revised target implies roughly 69% upside from that trading level, even as the stock has experienced a decline of nearly 30% over the last six weeks.

In a note to clients, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said the commercialization of Hut 8's 1,000 MW Beacon Point campus in Texas "changes the math" for the company by increasing the value of the project.

He noted that the site was originally developed around ASIC computing before being repositioned for AI, with Phase 1 redesigned to support 352 MW of IT capacity, up 57% from the original 224 MW plan.

The Phase 1 lease at Beacon Point carries $9.8 billion in base-term value and approximately $655 million in expected average annualized net operating income. That contract, combined with the $7 billion River Bend lease with Fluidstack and a Google backstop, brings the company's total base-term lease value to $16.8 billion. The aggregate value could rise to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise embedded five-year renewal options across both sites, according to the note.

"As HUT heads toward its 2Q26 print, we believe its set-up is worth restating because the numbers have moved so quickly that even close observers may not have fully absorbed them, and because its share price has declined by almost 30% during the six weeks despite that strong operating momentum," Palmer wrote.

While Beacon Point was the main driver of Benchmark’s target revision, Palmer also included Hut 8’s River Bend and Beacon Point contracts, the company’s 60% ownership stake in American Bitcoin Corp., and its holdings of 10,667 bitcoin as of March 31 in the firm’s sum-of-the-parts valuation.

Benchmark also highlighted Hut 8's broader development platform, which stood at 9,085 MW across projects under exclusivity, development, construction, management, and diligence. The pipeline includes 1,680 MW under exclusivity, 550 MW under development, 830 MW under construction, and 710 MW under management.

However, Palmer cautioned that Hut 8's reported financials for the second quarter, scheduled for release Aug. 4, are expected to be "messy," citing the mark-to-market accounting treatment of its bitcoin holdings.

This mirrors the first quarter, when revenue more than tripled year over year to $71 million, but the company posted a $253.1 million net loss, with results heavily influenced by $295.7 million in digital asset losses and $50.9 million in stock-based compensation.