Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares have climbed more than 2% premarket Monday, following bullish commentary from analysts at Needham & Company. In addition, Barclays lifted its price target for the stock.
Analysts at Needham & Company declared Buy-rated COIN as the firm's top pick for 2024, adding it to the firm's conviction list and lifting the price target to $180 from $160 per share. They said the cryptocurrency exchange is well-positioned for growth.
"We have been impressed with the product growth at COIN: derivatives launch, international expansion, and the Base chain launch," wrote the analysts. "Additionally, we believe COIN is better positioned in 2024 than during the last crypto bull cycle in 2021."
"With major crypto exchanges having pulled back, we believe COIN can maintain an elevated retail trading take rate (170bps+) while gaining trading market share," the analysts added." Further, we see an upcoming bitcoin ETF, the Halving, and possible interest rate cuts as positive catalysts for broader crypto investment activity & trading volume in 2024, which should benefit COIN and crypto-linked stocks."
Meanwhile, Barclays lifted its price target for COIN by 64% to $110 from $67 per share. Analysts noted that exchange volumes and asset prices have improved materially over the past several months, and declines in the USDC market cap have largely stabilized.
"Trading volumes and asset prices appreciated meaningfully over the past several months, spurred by excitement around the possible approval of a spot-Bitcoin ETF as well as lower rates driving risk-on sentiment," they stated.
However, despite the positives, Barclays remains unconvinced that the surge in trading activity is sustainable and continues to see a risk that crypto asset trading could increasingly move off of crypto exchanges and into ETFs, "which could put meaningful pressure on Coinbase's transaction take rate."