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Citi analyst Peter Christiansen on Tuesday lowered Coinbase Global’s (NASDAQ:COIN) stock price target as the cryptocurrency exchange plans to ramp up investments this year and next.
In an effort to expand internationally, the company is expecting to spend $4.25B-5.25B this year on technology and development and G&A expenses, excluding stock-based compensation, up from just $1.41B in 2021.
Christiansen cut COIN’s price target to $275 per share, implying over 56% upside from Monday’s close. Similarly, Compass Point analyst Chris Allen in February lowered his price target on COIN to discount the company’s expensive outlook.
“We agree with the move and see increased tech/product development spending translating to new features and functions (i.e. anticipated NFT platform) that will help drive further differentiation vs. less capitalized exchange peers,” Christiansen wrote in a note to clients.
The analyst also pointed to recent volatility in crypto prices, which has likely hampered transaction activity on the COIN platform YTD. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), for example, is off more than 10% in the same time frame and ethereum (ETH-USD) is down over 20%.
Wall Street Analysts view COIN stock as a Buy (11 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 5 Hold).
Meanwhile, shares of COIN rise by nearly 2% in premarket trading as bitcoin (BTC-USD +3.9%) jumps toward $43K and ether (ETH-USD +3.0%) climbs past $3K key level.
Last week, Short seller legend Jim Chanos said he’s short Coinbase.