Small-Cap Highlights: SolarEdge Forecast, Bitdeer's $4.7 Billion Deal, Replimune's Success

The FDA has endorsed the efficacy of an experimental drug from the small biotech company Replimune Group for the treatment of melanoma. SolarEdge, a manufacturer of solar systems, warned of weak third-quarter revenue amid declining demand. Meanwhile, cloud startup Volta is leasing data center capacity from Bitcoin miner Bitdeer Technologies—according to Bloomberg, for Anthropic, the developer of Claude. The week’s top stories from August 3–7 are in the Oninvest digest.

Bitdeer Technologies has signed a 16-year, $4.7 billion contract with cloud startup Volta Infrastructure to lease capacity at a data center currently under construction in Norway. According to Bloomberg, the capacity is intended for Anthropic, the developer of Claude. Taking into account a possible eight-year extension, the deal’s value could rise to $8 billion. Volta’s investors include Nvidia and the family office of Dell founder Michael Dell.

During trading on August 4, Bitdeer’s stock price rose by nearly 14%, but it gave up its gains and closed the session at roughly the previous closing price of $11.38 per share. In total, the company’s stock has received eleven “buy” recommendations from Wall Street analysts and one “hold” recommendation. The average price target is $22.7, representing upside potential of nearly 110% relative to the stock’s last closing price.

Rising demand for AI is exacerbating the shortage of computing power: Anthropic is already signing deals to lease computing power, including with SpaceX, and is in talks with Meta. Bloomberg notes that competition for AI infrastructure is intensifying, and building it requires massive investments.

SolarEdge shares plummeted 30.5% on August 5, to $33.9—their lowest level since mid-March. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $310–340 million, while analysts had expected an average of $365 million. The lower end of the forecast implies a year-over-year decline in sales of nearly 9% due to a seasonal slowdown in demand in Europe and weak sales in the U.S.

That said, SolarEdge ended the second quarter with significantly better results: revenue rose 20% to $346.2 million, and the net loss was reduced by a factor of four to $30 million. The company also posted a non-GAAP operating profit for the first time since 2023.

SolarEdge has 19 “hold” recommendations, seven “sell” recommendations, and only one “buy” recommendation. The average target price is $36.1, which implies upside potential of about 17% from the closing price on August 7.

An FDA advisory committee endorsed the efficacy of Replimune Group’s experimental drug for treating melanoma, boosting the biotech company’s chances of obtaining approval. The regulator had previously rejected the company’s application for accelerated approval of the drug twice. Against this backdrop, shares of the small-cap biotech company soared 107% on July 31.

For over a year, Replimune has been seeking approval for an experimental melanoma drug for patients who have not responded to previous treatments. The drug, which is based on a modified herpes virus, is injected directly into the tumor in combination with a Bristol Myers Squibb medication.

Replimune’s stock has a total of six ratings, all of which are “buy” recommendations from Wall Street analysts. Just three months ago, only one analyst recommended buying the company’s stock, four believed it was a “hold,” and three recommended selling. The average price target is $15.2, which is 26% higher than the stock’s closing price on August 7.

Williams Trading downgraded its recommendation on Birkenstock shares from “buy” to “hold,” lowering its price target by 4% to $44. Analysts believe that aggressive marketing campaigns could erode the brand’s premium status and condition customers to wait for discounts rather than buy products at full price.

At the same time, Wall Street as a whole maintains a positive outlook on the stock: 18 analysts recommend buying it, five recommend holding it, and one recommends selling it. The average target price is $46.3, which implies upside potential of about 20% from the August 7 closing price.