In a March 27 report, Roth Capital Markets analyst Darren Aftahi maintained his “Buy” rating and $80.00 target on Hut 8 (Hut 8 Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:HUT), saying the company is entering what could be a catalyst-rich 12 months as its data centre development pipeline advances.
Aftahi said the most actionable takeaway from meetings with CFO Sean Glennan at Roth’s 38th Annual Conference was management’s indication that the 700MW Corpus Christi site, expected in the first quarter of 2027, will “most likely” energize before River Bend Phase 2. He said that if Hut 8 signs a tenant contract before the end of 2026, the company could have two producing sites by early 2028, if not sooner.
He added that Corpus Christi may also move quickly in leasing discussions. Unlike River Bend, the site is not subject to a right of first offer in favour of Fluidstack and Anthropic, but Aftahi said the strength of the existing partnership and the familiarity among the parties, including Google, could help accelerate negotiations.
At River Bend, Aftahi said Phase 1 remains on track for summer 2026 energization, while Phase 2 is targeting an additional 330MW of generation capacity by the end of 2027 through a three-party arrangement involving Entergy and a private power developer. He said management suggested that structure could be replicated more broadly across Entergy’s service territory, which, if realized, would represent a meaningful expansion opportunity beyond Hut 8’s currently disclosed development queue.
Aftahi said management’s comments also pointed to a deeper relationship with Entergy than a one-off site arrangement, particularly given Hut 8’s potential role in bringing third-party generation to projects. He added that private developers with attractive sites but limited commercialization capabilities are now approaching Hut 8 about joint ventures, reinforcing the view that the company is building a broader infrastructure platform.
On financing, Aftahi said management described the high-yield bond market as increasingly competitive with project finance, giving Hut 8 more flexibility and potentially improving execution costs. He said syndication of project financing tied to the existing Google-backed lease, which carries a reported guaranteed value of $7-billion over 15 years and covers both debt and equity, appears to be progressing well, although management did not provide a closing date.
The analyst said equity protection remains a differentiator relative to peer structures that typically cover only debt service, and added that similar partnership opportunities may emerge in future projects, including with suppliers already lined up for River Bend. Aftahi also noted community opposition at the Logan County, Illinois site, though he said management appears to be addressing that through the buildout of a regulatory and government affairs team.
Near-term catalysts, he said, include a potential Corpus Christi tenant signing, finalization of River Bend Phase 1 financing, and resolution of the River Bend Phase 2 power arrangement, which would help validate both the 330MW target and the repeatability of the tri-party model.
Aftahi said that Hut 8 should post $137.5-million in Adjusted EBITDA on revenue of $362.1-million in fiscal 2026. he said those numbers will improve to $273.0-million on revenue of $596.7-million in fiscal 2027.
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