Coinbase Gets Another Upgrade, This Time at Raymond James, as Bears Capitulate

Investment
bank
Raymond
James
is
the
latest
Wall
Street
firm
to
revise
its
negative
rating
of
the
shares
of
crypto
exchange
Coinbase
(COIN),
after
surging
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)

inflows
triggered
a
rally
in
the
stock
and
bitcoin

(BTC)
pushed
to
all
time
highs.

While
Raymond
James
said
its
long-term
bias
on
Coinbase
remained
negative,
the
firm
admitted
to
underestimating
the
impact
that
spot
ETF
inflows
would
have
on
the
valuations
of
cryptocurrencies,
particularly
bitcoin.

Raymond
James
upgraded
the
stock
to
market
perform
from
underperform.
Coinbase
shares
closed
0.8%
higher
at
$256.14.
The
changes
and
commentary
were
contained
in
a
research
report
published
Tuesday.

Despite
the
upgrade,
the
firm
maintained
a
cautious
tone.

“We
continue
to
have
substantial
doubts
about
the
firm’s
long
term
earnings
prospects
given
what
we
view
as
an
essentially
commoditized
client
offering,
a
tenuous
long-term
earnings
outlook
for
cryptocurrency
valuations
that
appears
to
be
largely
premised
on
the

Greater
Fool
Theory
rather
than
inherent
value,
and
meaningful
regulatory
risk,”
analysts
led
by
Patrick
O’Shaughnessy
wrote.

“We
would
suggest
that
the
longer
this
crypto
rally
persists,
the
greater
the
odds
that
a
competitor
attacks
Coinbase
with
a
disruptive
pricing
strategy,”
the
authors
wrote.

Until
ETF
flows
taper
or
reverse,
the
stock’s
positive
momentum
is
likely
to
persist,
the
report
added.

The
Wall
Street
investment
bank
Goldman
Sachs
last
week
abandoned
its
bearish
stance
on
Coinbase
shares,
upgrading
the
stock
to
neutral
from
sell,
citing
higher
crypto
prices
and
increased
retail
participation.

Read
more:


Coinbase
Upgraded
to
Neutral
as
Goldman
Sachs
Ends
Bearish
Stance