• Canaccord raised its Cipher Mining price target to $7 from $6 while maintaining its buy rating on the shares.
• The company's bitcoin mining business remains a standout in the sector, the report said.
• The miner has real artificial intelligence optionality with its recently acquired Reveille data center site, the broker said.

Cipher Mining's (CIFR) bitcoin (BTC) mining business remains a standout in the sector in terms of exahash growth, operating performance and low power costs, broker Canaccord said in a research report on Wednesday.

The broker raised its price target for the bitcoin miner to $7 from $6 while maintaining its buy rating on the stock. The shares were 1.5% higher at $4.01 in early trading on Wednesday.

Canaccord said its positive view on the stock was reinforced by strong second quarter results which included an "outlook that contemplates strong exahash growth, a solid, unencumbered balance sheet, and by a business model that was more ready than most for the recent halving event."

The Bitcoin network hashrate is measured in exahash per second. Hashrate refers to the total amount of combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain.

The company's operational update underscored another quarter where Cipher was again one of the lowest-cost producers in the bitcoin mining sector, the report said.

In another positive development, the bitcoin miner plans to "materially increase production efficiency" at its largest facility in Odessa, Texas, in the coming quarters, by upgrading its mining fleet, Canaccord said.

The miner's recently acquired Reveille site brings "real artificial intelligence (AI) optionality to Cipher," the broker said, as the facility benefits from access to fiber, water for cooling, and a grid connection.

Next year's planned exahash expansion at the greenfield Black Pearl site, also in Texas, remains on track for completion, the report added.

Read more: U.S.-Listed Bitcoin Miners Have the Upper Hand Over Unlisted Peers: Bernstein