In a notable shift on Wall Street, Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) experienced a 6% increase in its share price on Friday after Oppenheimer analysts upgraded its stock rating to “outperform” and set a new price target of $160. 

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• Oppenheimer upgrades Coinbase stock to “outperform” with a $160 price target, highlighting the company’s resilience and strong management amidst market challenges.
• Analyst Owen Lau cites a potential legal victory over the SEC and the approval of new bitcoin ETFs as catalysts for increased investor interest and trading volume growth.
• Despite a year-to-date stock performance dip, Oppenheimer projects Coinbase’s return to profitability and 25% growth in the upcoming year.

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Oppenheimer Evaluates Coinbase’s Stock Rating Amid Sector Setbacks and Foresees Strength and Growth

The view of the buying bank and their assessment have indicated a positive take on the cryptocurrency exchange, and it implies that this firm is strong enough to fight in an unstable environment because of its strong management. 

Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau pointed out the outstanding results of this exchange despite the difficult market conditions last winter called crypto winters-like in many other competitors. It appears that the risk of investing in Coinbase is being discounted by investors as per Lau the resolve of Coinbase has been consistently underestimated. 

At the core of positive reassessment stand many factors, among which are the prospects for Coinbase’s success in its company’s legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and others. Moreover, the sanction of ten new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with Coinbase acting as custodian for a number of these, is anticipated to draw a fresh influx of investors to the platform, potentially increasing trading volumes.

This optimistic stance comes in the wake of a downgrade by JPMorgan earlier in the week, which cited concerns over the impact of newly introduced bitcoin ETFs. Contrary to JPMorgan’s view, Lau argues that most retail investors will remain loyal to the exchange for its diverse blockchain services rather than switching to ETFs, despite their initial fee incentives.

Lau also observed a noteworthy rise in Coinbase’s trading volume at the outset of the year and anticipates this trend to persist, with potential year-over-year volume growth of up to 66%.

Coinbase’s shares had previously soared by 400% last year during a broader crypto market revival. However, this year has seen the stock dip by over 20%, underperforming against the general market trend, with the CoinDesk 20 index, a measure of the largest 20 cryptocurrencies, declining by approximately 11% year-to-date.

Despite the current year’s setbacks, Lau’s forecast for Coinbase is optimistic, projecting a return to profitability in the coming year with an estimated 25% annual growth, positioning the company for its first profitable quarter since late 2021.

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