Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 205,000 call options on the company. This is an increase of 47% compared to the typical daily volume of 139,648 call options.

Cipher Mining Trading Up 18.4%

CIFR stock opened at $8.12 on Wednesday. Cipher Mining has a 52 week low of $6.62 and a 52 week high of $30.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.69.

Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $26.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 million. Cipher Mining had a negative net margin of 742.33% and a negative return on equity of 156.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 62.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cipher Mining will post -1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CIFR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cipher Mining in a report on Monday, September 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Cipher Mining from $30.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cipher Mining from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Cipher Mining from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cipher Mining from $54.00 to $51.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.97.

Institutional Trading of Cipher Mining

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Cipher Mining by 567.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,985,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,388,359 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Cipher Mining by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,373,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,292,000 after purchasing an additional 81,192 shares during the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cipher Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $35,077,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cipher Mining by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,519,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,423,000 after buying an additional 824,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cipher Mining during the 1st quarter worth $24,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cipher Mining

Here are the key news stories impacting Cipher Mining this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan called CIFR “substantially undervalued” and kept an Overweight rating, even as it reduced its price target to $18 from $22. JPMorgan calls CIFR stock substantially undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: The stock participated in a rebound among former bitcoin miners developing AI data centers. Cipher’s growth case includes $16.6 billion in contracted HPC revenue, improved Barber Lake lease economics and a 5.9-gigawatt development pipeline. Q3 earnings call highlights growth plans and cost pressures
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly loss per share of $0.22 was narrower than analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.25, providing a modest earnings bright spot. Cipher Mining quarterly results
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors bought 205,000 CIFR call options, 47% above the average volume. The activity may indicate increased bullish positioning, but options trading alone does not establish a direction for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $26.7 million missed the $39.31 million consensus and fell 62.8% year over year. Bitcoin-mining revenue dropped sharply, while early HPC rent has yet to replace the lost mining income. CIFR stock drops after Q3 revenue miss
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts cut price targets, including Needham ($25 to $15), Rosenblatt ($30 to $19) and Cantor Fitzgerald ($19 to $15), though they retained Buy or Overweight ratings. Reports also highlighted substantial borrowing and quarterly interest expense, which could weigh on results as data-center facilities ramp up. Cipher Digital profit is a warrant gain

About Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc (NASDAQ: CIFR) is a bitcoin mining company that develops and operates large-scale data center infrastructure in the United States. The company uses specialized application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) computers to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network and earn bitcoin rewards.

Cipher focuses on securing access to cost-effective power, building and managing mining facilities, and deploying high-performance computing equipment. Its operations are supported by power infrastructure, cooling systems, networking equipment and other data center technologies required for energy-intensive digital asset mining.

The company was formed through the combination of Cipher Mining Technologies Inc and Good Works Acquisition Corp.