Wall Street Is Trimming Expectations For Crypto’s Biggest Public Names, But Analysts Aren’t Turning Bearish
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Baird cut its price target on Circle to $100 from $138, while BTIG lowered its Coinbase target to $260 from $280.
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Both firms maintained bullish ratings, signaling confidence despite softer conditions in the crypto market.
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Analysts cited weak trading volumes and a slower crypto environment but expect diversified revenue streams to support results.
Baird and BTIG lowered their price targets on Circle Internet (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN), respectively, on Monday, but maintained bullish ratings on both stocks ahead of second-quarter (Q2) earnings.
Baird analyst David Koning cut his price target on Circle to $100 from $138, while keeping an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The firm said it had upgraded its model in anticipation of Circle’s second-quarter numbers.
Separately, BTIG analyst Andrew Harte cut his price target on Coinbase to $260 from $280, but kept a ‘Buy’ rating. The stock has dropped 18% since the first-quarter results, Harte said, citing weak spot crypto volume trends and a soft crypto market. He added that Q2 results could be better than feared, as Coinbase’s business is rapidly diversifying from spot crypto transaction revenue.
Q1 Results Set The Stage
Crypto trading activity took a nosedive in the first quarter (Q1), with Coinbase reporting a net loss of $394 million on $1.4 billion in revenue, missing consensus estimates. Despite the miss, the company pointed to growth in newer revenue lines, including retail derivatives, which hit an annualized run rate of more than $200 million in the quarter, and prediction markets, which hit $100 million in annualized revenue in March alone, just two months after launch.
Meanwhile, in May, Circle reported Q1 results with stablecoin USDC circulation of $77.0 billion, up 28% year-over-year, and total revenue and reserve income of $694 million, up 20% YoY. While Circle beat analyst consensus in earnings per share (EPS) by 16.67%, it missed revenue expectations by 2.9%.
Wall Street’s Optimism Remains Intact
According to Koyfin, Wall Street’s average price target for Coinbase has been cut to about $226.54 from $375-$380 in the October-December range, with the high estimate falling to $400 from a previous $510-$520 range.
COIN stock was trading at $159 in the early morning trade. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around COIN remained in the ‘neutral’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘normal’ levels over the past day.
