Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) shares are trading higher Wednesday. Piper Sandler highlighted Riot as one of the firm’s favorite stocks heading into upcoming earnings.

What Does Piper Sandler See In Riot?

Piper Sandler, which has a price target of $26 on Riot, released a fresh note, calling the stock a “sleeping giant” relative to peers.

The analyst pointed to Riot’s position among Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) miners, highlighting the company’s artificial intelligence and high-performance computing compatible data center assets.

Riot controls a combined 1.7 gigawatts of gross power capacity across two sites in Texas, which the analyst described as among the most attractive AI and HPC-ready sites still available on the market.

“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,” the analyst wrote in the note.

“We believe a deal announcement could drive significant outperformance relative to bitcoin miner peers.”

Piper Sandler’s $26 price target represents 55% upside to Tuesday’s closing price. Shares were up more than 2.5% on Wednesday at last check.

Riot Platforms is due to report earnings for the fourth quarter near the end of February. Analysts currently expect the company to report a loss of 14 cents per share and revenue of $164.94 million, per Benzinga Pro.

Riot Shares Rise In Early Trading

RIOT Price Action: At the time of writing, Riot shares are trading 2.69% higher at $17.20, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Riot shares have gained approximately 27.5% over the past year and have rallied more than 30% in just the last month.

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