Coinbase Stock Downgraded to 'Sell' At JPMorgan Chase

Yolowire 23-Jan-2024 10:04 AM

Analysts at %JPMorganChase (NYSE:JPM) have downgraded the stock of %Cryptocurrency exchange %Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) to underweight, saying the rally in the share price is now exhausted.

The sell equivalent rating on Coinbase stock comes after the companys share price has risen 129% over the last 12 months to trade at $128.21 U.S.

JPMorgan Chase has placed a price target on Coinbase stock of $80 U.S., which is nearly 40% lower than current levels.

The bank said the year ahead is likely to be difficult for Coinbase, especially as the price of %Bitcoin ($BTC) continues to slide lower.

Bitcoins price has fallen to $38,700 U.S. as the selloff that began with the approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the U.S. deepens.

Bitcoin is now down 20% from a peak of $49,000 U.S. that it reached in the lead up to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10.

The Bitcoin ETFs allow investors to track the price movements of the largest crypto without having to physically hold the digital asset, and they were expected to be a strong catalyst.

Instead, the ETF approvals have become a sell-the-news event amid heavy profit taking.

One of the biggest sales of Bitcoin has come from bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, whose bankruptcy estate sold $2 billion U.S. worth of the asset to start the year as it seeks to recover investor money.

So far in 2024, Coinbases share price has sunk 18%, and it is down a further 5% on news of the JPMorgan Chase downgrade.

COMTEX_446726790/2797/2024-01-23T09:36:25