Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) Price Target Raised to $106.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Circle Internet Group to $106 from $80, while keeping an equal weight rating on the stock. The new target still implies modest downside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain mostly constructive on CRCL, with recent target hikes from firms including Wells Fargo, HC Wainwright, Needham, and Robert W. Baird. Across Wall Street, the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $137.12.
• Circle reported Q1 revenue of $694.13 million, up 20% year over year, but earnings came in below expectations at $0.21 EPS versus $0.27 expected. The company also saw notable insider selling, including transactions by a director and the chief accounting officer.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $106.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential downside of 4.38% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on CRCL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Circle Internet Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Circle Internet Group from $111.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright upgraded Circle Internet Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Circle Internet Group from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Circle Internet Group from $110.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $137.12.

Circle Internet Group Stock Performance

CRCL stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,584,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,605,851. The stock has a market cap of $27.36 billion and a PE ratio of -34.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.61. Circle Internet Group has a 52-week low of $49.90 and a 52-week high of $298.99.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.06). Circle Internet Group had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 2.89%. The firm had revenue of $694.13 million during the quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Circle Internet Group will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Circle Internet Group

In other news, Director Rajeev V. Date sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $439,185.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 152,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,517,720. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Tamara L. Schulz sold 1,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.10, for a total value of $127,877.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 90,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,727,785.90. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 quarter, insiders sold 618,664 shares of company stock worth $60,410,221. Insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Circle Internet Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRCL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Circle Internet Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Circle Internet Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Circle Internet Group by 3,800.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Circle Internet Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Circle Internet Group by 170.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 378 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period.

About Circle Internet Group

Circle Internet Group NYSE: CRCL is a financial technology company that builds infrastructure to enable businesses and developers to use and move money on public blockchains. Co-founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, the company is best known as a principal issuer and steward of USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin developed through the CENTRE Consortium, which Circle co-founded with Coinbase. Jeremy Allaire serves as CEO and has been a visible leader in the company’s strategy and public engagement around digital currency and payments innovation.

Circle’s core products and services center on digital currency issuance and programmable payments.

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