“The problem is mostly the analyst just moves targets with their price,” Charan Dangeti, a finance content creator, said in an interview. Dangeti pointed to analyst price targets as an example, suggesting “when stock goes down, like Citi, they lower their Micron target when it went down 10%. And then they increase it when it goes up.”
“That’s the problem with all these targets. Right? It’s kind of, I think, there’s some bias involved when they make their targets and I mean, I don’t think they’re the most honest way to do it,” said Dangeti, a paid creator partner of paper trading app GameStock.
Goldman Sachs raised its Coinbase price target to $196 from $173 on Tuesday, after the cryptocurrency exchange’s stock had already gained 28% in five sessions.
Crypto increasingly enters mainstream finance
“This is going to be embedded in the large finance institutions”
“Version two of the narrative around crypto is to take it seriously,” Andy Duenas, director of financial services at Cap V, said on the On The Margin podcast.
Goldman analyst James Yaro maintained his Buy rating on Robinhood and set a $124 price target, citing growth in newer business lines, including derivatives and prediction markets.
“This is going to be the future of finance. This is going to be embedded in the large finance institutions,”. Duenas made the comments as Goldman Sachs continued building its own cryptocurrency business. Coinbase closed Tuesday at $187.16, up 4.3%.
“One of our clients did a partnership with Coinbase to be able to offer the first crypto-backed mortgages,” Duenas said. “Because you’re seeing that more younger folks have their assets tied up in crypto. So how can they leverage that in order to purchase their first home?”
“And at the heart of it, when it comes to anyone’s money, it’s building that trust. So our big job is building trust around crypto and it being a viable product,” Duenas said.
Coinbase traded at $182.43 by midday Wednesday, about 7.4% below Goldman’s $196 target. Robinhood was trading at $109.92, 12.8% below the $124 target.
Institutional crypto demand remains uncertain
“Big money still doesn’t look fully convinced”
“Coinbase’s Bitcoin premium briefly flipped green. But it didn’t last long. It’s already back in the red, which suggests U.S. institutional buying is still weak. $BTC is moving, but big money still doesn’t look fully convinced,” Niels, co-founder of STABL Agency, wrote on X on Tuesday morning, hours after bitcoin peaked at $80,698 on CoinGecko’s index.
Six hours later, the same indicator was being interpreted differently. “Coinbase bitcoin premium just flipped positive after being negative for 3+ months straight,” posted trader Crypto Jargon. “When coinbase premium goes negative for months, US demand is dead, and every rally is foreign-led and fragile. When it flips positive, the real bid is back.”
“Coinbase is showing a $BTC net selling state. However, Binance and OKX are maintaining a net buy state,” CryptoQuant contributor CW wrote on August 20, as the exchange’s role in the infrastructure supporting exchange-traded funds drew renewed attention.
Tuesday marked bitcoin’s first move above $80,000 since mid-May. The cryptocurrency traded near $77,900 on Wednesday, remaining up 19.9% on the week.
“Why would you trust one custodian versus three? It’s pretty straightforward. We’re just so early. That’s why people don’t do it yet,” Michael Tanguma, co-founder and chief executive of bitcoin custody firm Onramp, said in an interview about the concentration risk running through the same infrastructure. “There’s a single point of failure whether it’s Coinbase or yourself.”
Analysts continue to diverge on Coinbase
“The last step of every bear market”
“Newbie capitulation is the last step of every bear market,” wrote Ki Young Ju, founder of CryptoQuant.
Mizuho cut its Coinbase price target to $155 from $200 in early August, leaving its target below the stock’s current market price.
“Coinbase dominance surged while the premium stayed negative. Paper hands at ETFs and institutions sold the bottom,” Ki Young Ju wrote.
Bernstein has the highest Wall Street target at $330. BTIG trimmed its target because of weak trading volumes, while Benchmark cut its target after Coinbase’s second-quarter miss. The quarter came as market-wide crypto spot trading volumes fell 25% from the previous three months.
“Raymond James said $800 SpaceX,” Dangeti said, citing his own example of a price target he does not trust.
Coinbase remains about 54% below its 52-week high of $402.16.
