Key Points
- Bitcoin’s breakthrough past $72,000 leads to a surge in Coinbase and MicroStrategy stocks.
- Oppenheimer and Benchmark analysts increase price targets for Coinbase and MicroStrategy, respectively.
The week began positively for crypto-related companies as Bitcoin soared past the $72,000 mark for the first time since mid-March.
Stocks Surge
In early morning trading in New York, shares of Nasdaq-listed Coinbase and MicroStrategy rose by 8% and 12% respectively. Coinbase shares climbed above $260, while MicroStrategy’s stock exceeded the $1,600 mark in the last 24 hours, according to data from TradingView.
New Price Targets
Recently, New York-based financial firm Oppenheimer raised Coinbase’s share price target from $200 to $276, maintaining its buy rating. Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau predicts that Coinbase’s 1Q24 trading volume will increase by 95% quarter-on-quarter, and 107% year-on-year to $300 billion.
Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer also increased his price target for MicroStrategy stock from $990 to $1,875, reaffirming his buy rating. This new target suggests a 17% upside from the current opening price.
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings now total 214,250 as of the company’s March filing. In March, MicroStrategy purchased an additional 9,245 Bitcoin for $623 million in cash, meaning the company now holds over 1% of the total Bitcoin supply.
However, Bitfinex Alpha’s recent report suggests that Bitcoin’s sell pressure could increase due to a decrease in the digital asset’s supply held by long-term holders. The report noted that the supply held by short-term holders has increased by 1.121 million Bitcoin, offsetting the distribution pressure from long-term holders and indicating an additional acquisition of about 121,000 Bitcoin from the secondary market.
Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 11, the amount of Bitcoin held by such ETFs has grown from 621,390 to 836,120.
