Touchstone Capital Inc. recently decreased its holdings in Coinbase Global, a cryptocurrency exchange that provides financial infrastructure and technology for the cryptoeconomy. The institutional investor sold 1,745 shares during the fourth quarter, reducing its holdings by 2.8%. As of its most recent SEC filing, Touchstone Capital Inc.’s remaining 60,406 shares in Coinbase Global are worth $2,138,000 and comprise approximately 2.5% of the firm’s overall holdings.
Coinbase Global offers various services within the cryptoeconomy such as primary financial accounts for retailers, liquidity pools for institutional transactions in crypto assets, and technology and services for ecosystem partners to develop applications that accept crypto assets as payment. Its stock currently trades at $66.10 per share as of mid-day trading on Friday and reached a 52-week high of $206.79.
Despite fluctuations in cryptocurrency markets that may affect its operations, Coinbase Global has reported strong financial performance in recent months due to increased interest from institutional investors and retail traders alike. In fact, the company has received significant attention from mainstream media outlets as well as top tier venture capitalists who see potential for sustained growth in this sector.
While Touchstone Capital Inc.’s decision to divest partial ownership from Coinbase Global may seem like an unexpected move at first glance, it could be part of a broader strategy aimed at maximizing returns for its clients based on market trends and risk management considerations. As more companies continue to enter the highly competitive world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, it remains unclear which players will emerge as industry leaders over time. Nevertheless, investors seeking exposure to this rapidly-evolving space will undoubtedly keep a close eye on developments surrounding Coinbase Global and similar firms going forward.
Coinbase Global Plans Direct Listing on NASDAQ Amidst Investor Speculation and Insider Trading
Coinbase Global, Inc. is a financial infrastructure and technology provider for the cryptoeconomy in the United States and beyond. The company offers various services such as primary financial accounts for retailers, a crypto asset marketplace, and technology that enables partners to build applications that accept crypto assets as payment. The company is now planning to go public through its direct listing on NASDAQ known as the COIN IPO.
Several hedge funds and institutional investors have recently made changes in their positions within Coinbase Global’s business. Vanguard Group Inc., increased its stake by 19.8% during Q3, with 2,110,196 new shares valued at $824,587,000. Additionally, Paradigm Operations LP increased its position by 45.6%, with an additional 1,160,841 shares worth $174,237,000 during Q2.
First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Coinbase Global by 329.7% during Q3 with an additional 448,055 shares valued at $37,659,000. Northern Trust Corp has also previously increased its position in Coinbase Global by purchasing another 428,994 shares worth $26,4720m last quarter. Finally California Public Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake worth around $20m during Q3 giving Institutional investors and hedge funds ownership of roughly 46.41% of the company’s stock.
Equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock with varying opinions about it already given recent research reports: Barclays dropped their target price from $86 down to $70; Bank of America downgraded Coinbase from “neutral”to “underperform,”droppingthe priceobjective from$50 to$35; JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform”rating andsetaper-sharepriceobjectiveat$90; Oppenheimer downgraded Crypto Exchangefrom’an’outperform’to’a’market’perform’recomendationonMarch23rd.Newlyreleased details have seen JP Morgan Chase & Co boost Coinbase’s price objective from $52.00 to $57.00, rating it as neutral.Coinbase Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” based on Bloomberg’s analysis thus far; consensus price forecast pegs the company at $68.32.
CoinbaseGlobal recently reported its Q4 earnings with revenue of $1.28 billion for 2020, marking a seven-fold increase from the previous year.Yet, investors express concern with regard to thecompany’sreportednetlossof$30millionearlier last year and there are fears that the cryptocurrency exchange platform fails to reach investors’ expectations on profitability: during Q4 2020 the crypto exchange platform reported net earnings worth just above $322 million.
In other news, one insider reportedly sold a total of 1,485 shares at an average rate of $77.00 in March this year and now holds a total of 63,250 shares valued at more than $4.8m.Several major insiders bought or sold their positions during Q1 2021; between January and early April insiders bought around 45,674 shares of company stock valued at about $2.2m, while selling around318kshares,worthatotalof$17m-roughly36.10%ofcompnaysharesareownedby corporate insiders.
The COIN IPO is highly anticipated given that it marks a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry as Coinbase goes public.However, many have expressed concern regarding its post-IPO debut amid volatile market speculation.The direct listing offers premier crypto exposure which should typically benefit from increased investor frenzy in relation to cryptocurrencies cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.Bitcoin recorded an all-time high trading value before reaching a lower-than-$60k mark: analysts speculate how long Cryptocurrencies can maintain their current run up or if they might go bust soon-which remains a fundamental concern to current and future crypto investors.
