Needham raises Riot Platforms price target to $30 on Anthropic lease deal

Analysts have lifted the implied fair value of New Era Energy & Digital to about US$11.67 from US$10.50, roughly an 11% increase, as Wall Street weighs progress at the company's Texas Critical Data Centers against sector and regulatory risk. Roth Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a US$10 price target, saying the share price does not fully capture potential commercialization of Texas Critical Data Centers Phases I and II. Northland raised its target to US$12 from US$10 with an Outperform rating, citing progress on the Phase 1 PPA, strong major tenant interest, and management guidance around capacity delivery in 2H27, while B. Riley lifted its target to US$13 from US$10 and kept a Buy rating. B. Riley also noted that the digital mining and HPC peer group has fallen 34% since June 22, compared with 6.2% for the Russell 2000, reflecting regulatory uncertainty, higher yields, and slower leasing activity. The updated model raised the revenue growth assumption to 626.36% from 344.38%, lifted the profit margin forecast to 20.24% from 17.82%, cut the future P/E multiple to 26.88x from 75.20x, and adjusted the discount rate to 7.236% from 7.108%.

Computing power leasing is becoming one of the most crowded tracks in the A-share market. According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the domestic computing power leasing market reached 68 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, up about 60 percent year on year, and is expected to exceed 260 billion yuan for the full year. During the same period, domestic AI computing power demand grew 417 percent year on year, while supply grew only 128 percent. According to a Securities Times report in June this year, there are already more than 70 computing power leasing concept stocks, spanning 15 industries, with market capitalizations ranging from 2 billion yuan to 120 billion yuan. A recent investigation by Cailian Press found that among 16 listed companies with computing power contracts exceeding 500 million yuan, 10 had contracts that were terminated after a period of disclosure or had still not begun performance. Among them, Lanyun Technology's 3.707 billion yuan computing power cloud service agreement had still not entered actual performance as of September 8, 2026, while Annil is expected to lose up to 60.4285 million yuan after the termination of its acquisition of a 22 percent stake in Shenzhen Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. Samples of main-business drift are also dense. Qunxing Toys announced the termination of its restructuring, which had lasted nearly eight months, on the evening of October 20. Lianhua Holdings recorded computing power service revenue of 122 million yuan in 2025, accounting for only 3.53 percent of its total operating revenue of 3.452 billion yuan, while the value of computing power leasing contracts terminated early in the same period reached 1.228 billion yuan. On the regulatory front, China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing made a clear statement at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, saying that the commission will strictly investigate and punish those who use technology as a pretext to chase hot topics and speculate on concepts. So far this year, the commission has investigated and dealt with seven cases of misleading statements. On July 6, the Shanghai Stock Exchange also upgraded the permission functions of its SSE e-interaction platform, suspending reply permissions for 12 months for companies penalized for hype-chasing.

Gorilla Technology announced Friday that it signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire its first U.S. data center, with the acquisition targeted to close by the end of November 2026. The existing facility has 6 MW of current power capacity and potential expansion to 36 MW, while the local utility supports an additional 30 MW expected to be delivered in about 18 months, subject to infrastructure work. The operational facility generates colocation revenue that the company expects to continue after the acquisition, subject to final lease and transfer arrangements. Gorilla targets a U.S. data center portfolio exceeding 100 MW within 12 to 18 months through acquisitions, expansion, and AI computing deployments. The deal remains subject to due diligence and definitive agreements.

Suchat Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said after the first meeting in 2026 of the environmental subcommittee under the Data Centre Business Policy Committee that the government is pushing a draft Code of Practice, or CoP, for data centre operators to serve as an environmental regulatory framework and reduce impacts on nearby residents and communities. The draft CoP will set minimum standards that operators must follow, covering electricity use, water management, environmental management, and the storage and management of reserve fuel, in order to raise industry standards and reduce risks from potential impacts on communities and the environment. Suchat said the development of digital infrastructure is a key factor in boosting the country's competitiveness, but the growth of data centres must go hand in hand with environmental responsibility, with the government setting clear standards from the outset. He also stressed the need for clear operating guidelines, continuous communication of information to the public, and integrated work with relevant agencies. After hearing opinions from relevant agencies and experts, the draft CoP will be revised for completeness before being submitted to the Data Centre Business Policy Committee for consideration in the next step.