Riot Blockchain stock climbs as H.C. Wainwright calls bitcoin miner a Buy (NASDAQ:RIOT)

Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) stocks accelerated 6.5% in Wednesday morning trading as H.C. Wainwright analyst Mike Colonnese assumed the bitcoin (BTC-USD) miner with a Buy rating given its expansion plans that haven’t changed despite ongoing market turmoil.

As the company continues to scale its operating (mining) capacity, Riot’s (RIOT) share of the total bitcoin (BTC-USD) network hash rate will likely grow to more than 4% by Q4 2023 versus its 2.7% share now, Colonnese wrote in a note to clients.

He contended that RIOT should be a “beneficiary of the impending industry shakeout resulting from the prolonged period of suppressed BTC prices,” as a result of its low-cost mining operations and an exceptionally “strong balance sheet.”

Colonnese’s Buy rating contrasts from the Quant’s Strong Sell rating, with the poorest marks in profitability and revisions, but undershoots the average Wall Street analysts’ Strong Buy rating.

RIOT stock also gained as bitcoin (BTC-USD) inched higher by 1.7% to $16.42K at the time of writing, but still at depressed levels as the fallout from crypto exchange FTX put the crypto space further on edge.

See why Seeking Alpha contributor Singular Research viewed Riot stock as a Buy despite weaker-than-expected Q3 revenue.