Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ)

Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 141,404 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 55% compared to the typical volume of 91,193 call options.

Core Scientific Stock Up 21.3%

Shares of CORZ stock traded up $3.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.98. 15,420,179 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,776,579. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 5.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.78. Core Scientific has a 12-month low of $12.60 and a 12-month high of $30.46.

Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported ($3.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($3.26). The firm had revenue of $164.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.83 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Core Scientific will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CORZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Core Scientific to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wolfe Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Core Scientific in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Core Scientific from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Core Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts raised Core Scientific to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd M. Duchene sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.95, for a total transaction of $209,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,989,101 shares in the company, valued at $41,671,665.95. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 90,000 shares of company stock worth $2,234,900 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Core Scientific by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 94,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Core Scientific by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Core Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Core Scientific during the 2nd quarter valued at about $136,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Core Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000.

Key Core Scientific News

Here are the key news stories impacting Core Scientific this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AMD deal validates Core Scientific’s AI pivot. AMD agreed to lease up to 2.5 gigawatts of data-center capacity, including approximately 529–530 megawatts covered by long-term agreements across five sites. The initial contracts could represent about $14 billion in potential base revenue over 15 years, subject to development and deployment. Mining For Megawatts: AMD’s Billion-Dollar Grid Grab
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CORZ to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its price target to $28 from $25. Needham and BTIG also maintained Buy ratings, while Canaccord Genuity recently lifted its target to $36 from $30. The upgrades reinforce expectations that AI colocation can drive substantial growth. Analyst upgrade coverage
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related operating momentum is accelerating. Second-quarter revenue was $164.2 million, above the $144.8 million consensus estimate, while colocation revenue reportedly rose sharply year over year. The AMD arrangement and the appointment of technology executive Mark W. Adams to the board strengthen Core Scientific’s positioning in high-density computing infrastructure. Core Scientific board appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: AMD received warrants for up to 30 million CORZ shares at $23.47. The warrants could help align AMD with successful project deployment and provide financing support, but they also create potential dilution for existing shareholders. Elevated call-option activity suggests increased speculative interest and volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and earnings risks remain significant. Core Scientific reported a quarterly GAAP loss of $3.32 per share, dramatically missing the $0.06 loss consensus, despite the revenue beat. The company also faces substantial capital requirements to convert former cryptocurrency-mining facilities for AI workloads. Insider Todd Duchene sold 10,000 shares on July 27, following a similar sale earlier in July, although the transactions reduced his ownership only modestly.

About Core Scientific

Core Scientific, Inc (NASDAQ: CORZ) is a leading provider of large-scale blockchain infrastructure and digital asset mining services. The company develops, owns and operates high-performance data centers optimized for the mining of Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies. In addition to its core mining operations, Core Scientific offers colocation, hosting and managed services designed to support institutional clients and enterprise users in deploying and scaling blockchain nodes and computing hardware.

Core Scientific’s service portfolio includes hardware procurement, deployment and maintenance, real-time monitoring, power management and network connectivity.