-
Benchmark
has
raised
its
price
target
for
MicroStrategy
to
$2,150
even
as
the
company
posted
a
revenue
miss
on
Thursday. -
The
broker’s
analyst
noted
the
company’s
share
price
outperformance
since
adoption
of
bitcoin
as
its
primary
treasury
reserve
asset
in
August
2020. -
Since
then,
the
stock’s
performance
was
significantly
better
than
other
assets
like
bitcoin
or
the
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq,
Palmer
noted.
Wall
Street
brokerage
Benchmark
defended
MicroStrategy’s
(MSTR)
bitcoin
plan
and
raised
the
stock’s
price
target
to
$2,150
–
the
highest
among
analysts
–
even
after
the
company
reported
a
revenue
miss
during
the
second
quarter.
Since
adopting
bitcoin
as
its
primary
treasury
reserve
asset
in
August
2020,
Executive
Chairman
Michael
Saylor-led
company
has
appreciated
1,206%,
Benchmark’s
analyst
Mark
Palmer
wrote
in
a
research
report
on
Friday.
The
stock’s
performance,
since
then,
stands
in
contrast
to
bitcoin
(BTC),
the
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
which
have
gained
442%
64%
and
60%,
respectively,
he
noted.
“While
MSTR’s
approach
has
had
plenty
of
detractors,
including
those
who
have
asked
why
anyone
would
buy
its
shares
rather
than
simply
buying
bitcoin,
management
has
responded
to
criticism
by
pointing
to
the
scoreboard,”
Palmer,
who
has
a
buy
rating
on
the
stock,
said.
MicroStrategy’s
shares
were
down
about
1.2%
on
Friday,
relatively
outperforming
other
crypto-linked
stocks.
The
bitcoin
price
and
the
broader
CoinDesk
20
Index
fell
more
than
3%
in
the
last
24
hours.
Doubling
down
on
its
bitcoin
strategy,
the
firm
on
Thursday
introduced
“Bitcoin
Yield,”
a
key
performance
indicator
that
tracks
the
percentage
change
in
the
ratio
of
the
company’s
bitcoin
holdings
to
its
diluted
shares
outstanding.
The
new
metric
will
make
it
easier
for
investors
to
track
the
firm’s
bitcoin
strategy’s
performance,
Palmer
said.
MicroStrategy’s
bitcoin
yield
year-to-date
was
12.2%,
the
company
said
on
the
earnings
statement.
It
targets
4%-8%
in
each
of
the
next
three
years.
The
firm
on
Thursday
reported
a
second
quarter
net
loss
of
$102.6
million
as
it
took
an
impairment
charge
of
$180.1
million
on
its
bitcoin
holdings.
It
currently
holds
226,500
bitcoin
which
were
acquired
for
an
average
of
$36,821
per
token.