Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) Lowered to "Strong Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Bakkt from a "sell" to a "strong sell" in a recent research note, signaling heightened analyst caution about the stock.
• Benchmark cut its target price from $40 to $22 and Weiss Ratings lowered its view, while MarketBeat's consensus rating remains "Hold" with a consensus target of $22 as the shares trade around $8.58.
• Insiders have been selling: the CFO and general counsel sold shares in late April to cover tax withholding on awards, with insiders selling 13,249 shares over the last 90 days and owning about 2.5% of the company.

Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on BKKT. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Bakkt from $40.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Bakkt from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Bakkt Stock Performance

Shares of BKKT stock opened at $8.58 on Friday. Bakkt has a 1 year low of $6.87 and a 1 year high of $49.79. The business's fifty day moving average is $8.88 and its 200-day moving average is $14.45. The stock has a market cap of $262.17 million, a PE ratio of -1.67 and a beta of 5.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen Alexander sold 4,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.13, for a total transaction of $42,764.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,771 shares in the company, valued at $509,189.23. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Marc D'annunzio sold 7,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.86, for a total value of $68,930.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 110,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,122.74. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,249 shares of company stock worth $119,616. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKKT. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bakkt in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Bakkt by 110.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 982 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Bakkt in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Bakkt by 3,275.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,498 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Bakkt during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 11.11% of the company's stock.

About Bakkt

Bakkt Holdings, Inc is a digital asset platform that aims to bridge traditional finance and digital assets by offering institutional-grade custody, trading and settlement services. Established in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the company initially made headlines with the launch of its physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts in 2019. Since then, Bakkt has expanded its product lineup to include spot trading of cryptocurrencies, a secure digital wallet for retail customers and a payment gateway that enables merchants to accept digital assets alongside fiat currencies.

The company's core offering centers on its custody infrastructure, which is built to meet robust regulatory and security standards.

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