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A complex mixture of news and data is hitting stocks to close out the week. One side effect: a drag on crypto-related investments, which not long ago were riding high on big-picture optimism.
Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), which late Thursday reported quarterly results that missed revenue expectations (though also included signs that the current quarter’s trading volume was looking better than the last), were recently down 17%, among the worst performers on the S&P 500. Robinhood Markets (HOOD), which turned in strong quarterly numbers earlier this week, was almost 2% lower Friday afternoon.
Bitcoin, which touched $120,000 not too long ago, is now below $115,000. Leading bitcoin treasury Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, is off about 8%.
Some of this is likely tied to a risk-off sentiment seen in Friday’s broad trading, with all three major U.S. indexes down substantially amid fresh trade uncertainty and a July jobs number that—while perhaps strengthening the case for an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve—may also signal economic deterioration.
Analysts Pull Back on Crypto-Stock Enthusiasm
A recent run of strong results for tech and other stocks could also simply mean investors are taking a breather. Retail investors, according to Vanda Research, have lately pulled back from the most-speculative stocks after a short-lived meme-stock frenzy. On crypto stocks specifically, some analysts have shifted to more wait-and-see attitudes; Morgan Stanley reiterated a “neutral” rating on Robinhood Thursday.
But some bulls are still running strong, noting recent regulatory wins and signs of future regulatory clarity that reinforce the belief that crypto’s best days lie ahead.
Oppenheimer analysts on Friday trimmed their price target on Coinbase by a few dollars to $413, holding well above the Street’s roughly $383 average. They called the latest pullback “an attractive buying opportunity” and generally characterizing Thursday’s results as meeting expectations.
And Deutsche Bank on Thursday lifted its target on Robinhood to $118, which is $6 above the Street’s average. “We believe our forecasts could actually be conservative given the potential upside from continued strong execution on [Robinhood’s] product roadmap,” they wrote.
