Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) Shares Down 7.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Cipher Mining shares fell 7.3% after Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the stock from $53.50 to $48.50, though the firm kept an overweight rating.
• Despite the dip, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive overall: 16 analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $27.69.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations, with quarterly EPS of -$0.28 versus the -$0.27 estimate, while revenue of $34.84 million also came in below forecasts and fell 28.8% year over year.

Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR - Get Free Report) shares were down 7.3% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $53.50 to $48.50. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cipher Mining traded as low as $24.23 and last traded at $24.3340. Approximately 4,160,252 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 27,523,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.24.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Cipher Mining from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Cipher Mining from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cipher Mining from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Cipher Mining from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cipher Mining in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cipher Mining has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wesley Hastie Williams sold 28,169 shares of Cipher Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.26, for a total value of $627,041.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 129,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,893,265.76. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Tyler Page sold 37,500 shares of Cipher Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.11, for a total value of $604,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,263,862 shares in the company, valued at $133,130,816.82. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,804 shares of company stock valued at $3,877,735. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cipher Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cipher Mining during the first quarter valued at $9,316,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cipher Mining by 52.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,680,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,765,000 after buying an additional 1,610,073 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cipher Mining during the second quarter valued at $98,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cipher Mining by 113.7% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 31,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 16,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cipher Mining by 65.2% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 29,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 11,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.26% of the company's stock.

Cipher Mining Stock Down 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 3.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.17.

Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). Cipher Mining had a negative net margin of 427.79% and a negative return on equity of 117.65%. The business had revenue of $34.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.12 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cipher Mining Inc. will post -0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc is a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company that develops, owns and operates large-scale mining facilities across the United States. The company focuses on deploying advanced ASIC hardware and securing long-term low-cost power contracts to optimize bitcoin production. By strategically locating its sites in regions with abundant energy supply, Cipher Mining seeks to maintain a competitive cost structure and deliver efficient hashrate capacity growth.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Cipher Mining has pursued an integrated approach encompassing site development, equipment procurement and operations management.

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