Mizuho downgraded COIN to "underperform" from "neutral"
The shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) were last seen 3.3% lower to trade at $41.40, following a bear note from Mizuho. The analyst downgraded Coinbase stock to "underperform" from "neutral" and slashed its price target by $12 to $32, amid a downbeat crypto trading environment.
In addition, Mizuho pointed out risk surrounding Coinbase's relationship with Circle, the issuer of the second-biggest U.S. dollar-pegged digital asset USD Coin (USDC). Coinbase currently receives revenue from Circle in return for holding customers' dollar balances and its corporate cash in the USDC stablecoin.
Mizuho's note indicated that COIN could fall 30%, which is pretty brutal considering the crypto stock is already down more than 84% in the last 12 months. Every significant moving average is weighing on the equity now, even the smaller 10-day trendline which Coinbase stock has failed to consistently close above since early November.
There is plenty of room for the brokerage bunch to join Mizuho's lead. Of the 20 covering the stock, 11 still rate COIN a "buy" or better. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus target price of $75.40 is a massive 82.2% premium to the equity's current perch, indicating a round of price-target cuts could be just around the corner.