Oppenheimer Upgrades Coinbase (COIN) Stock to ‘Outperform’

• Coinbase’s (COIN) share price increased by as much as 6% on Friday.
• The company was already cut to underweight by JPMorgan earlier this week.

Following investment bank Oppenheimer’s decision to upgrade Coinbase’s stock rating from “perform” to “outperform” and set a price target of $160 per share, citing the company’s strength and the toughness of its management team, Coinbase’s (COIN) share price increased by as much as 6% on Friday.

Analyst Owen Lau mentioned:

“The stock was under extreme scrutiny during crypto winter. While many peers went under, COIN is still standing and fighting for its businesses and the industry. We believe the company is stronger than many people realize, and the management team is tougher than most investors think.”

Strong Projection

A “good chance” that Coinbase would win or have the case dismissed by the court against the SEC is one of the reasons that led to the upgrading.

In addition, Coinbase’s role as custodian for many issuers of the recently approved spot bitcoin ETFs is a motivating factor. According to Lau, this will bring in money for the business since it is an essential component of the infrastructure, and it will also reap the benefits of a slew of new investors, more adoption, and more trading volume.

The company was already cut to underweight by JPMorgan earlier this week, citing a weak catalyst for bitcoin ETFs, which led to the move. However, he did say that most retail traders would probably maintain their funds on the exchange as it opens up new blockchain use cases to them.

Since the beginning of the year, Coinbase has seen increasing trading activity, which Lau attributes to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decrease expectations and the industry’s anticipation of Bitcoin’s halving in April.

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