By Roth Capital analyst Darren Aftahi has turned bullish on Core Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: CORZ), even as its expected deal with CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) now appears increasingly unlikely.
CORZ shareholders are broadly expected to vote against the CRWV transaction on October 30th, given that the artificial intelligence (AI) stock is already trading above the implied deal value.
Meanwhile, CoreWeave’s management has signalled no plans of sweetening its offer, saying Core Scientific is “a nice to have – not a need to have.”
However, Aftahi believes CORZ shares’ standalone potential is more compelling than their value as a buyout target.
On Thursday, he upgraded the firm to “buy” and raised the price target to $23.50.
Why Core Scientific stock is more attractive as a standalone
Roth Capital sees the Dover-headquartered firm’s pivot away from a merger as a strategic victory.
Core Scientific operates a vast network of data centers across six states, with roughly 1.3 gigawatts of contracted power capacity.
Aftahi’s bullish thesis now centers on CORZ leasing its unused power – about 700 megawatts – to tenants focused on high-performance computing (HPC), including AI and crypto workloads.
“We pivot to a standalone Core Scientific that leases its power pipeline mostly for HPC,” he wrote.
With CoreWeave out of the picture, CORZ can pursue multiple tenants – potentially diversifying revenue and boosting margins.
Aftahi’s revised Core Scientific stock valuation reflects this shift in the firm’s monetization strategy.
CORZ shares offer inexpensive means of AI exposure
Darren Aftahi remains positive on Core Scientific shares despite an expected collapse of CRWV agreement, also because they’re trading at a meaningful discount on a relative basis.
According to Barchart, the Nasdaq-listed firm is currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of less than 14, which is rather inexpensive considering it’s an AI stock.
The best-of-breed artificial intelligence stocks, including the category leader – Nvidia – typically command a multiple of well past 30.
CORZ’ scale, with infrastructure tailored for energy-intensive computing, positions it as a notable player in the AI and digital asset ecosystem.
Given the uncontracted 700MW pipeline and remaining BTC mining capacity, the upside in Core Scientific stock isn’t just speculative – it’s backed by tangible power and strategic flexibility, the analyst concluded.
How to play CORZ stock heading into 2026
The collapse of the CoreWeave deal may have initially raised concerns, but Roth Capital’s upgrade reframes it as a turning point.
Core Scientific is no longer tethered to a single buyer’s vision – it’s free to become a landlord of digital infrastructure, catering to a broader set of HPC clients.
That shift will likely unlock more consistent revenue streams and improve capital efficiency.
For investors, the takeaway is clear: CORZ shares aren’t just surviving the failed deal – they’re thriving because of it.
With a sharpened focus and expanded leasing potential, Core Scientific is emerging as a standalone force in the AI and crypto compute economy.
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