Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Circle shares opened sharply higher, rising from a prior close of $78.59 to $82.99 before trading near $81.97, with more than 6.4 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and a $97.12 average price target, with targets ranging from $37 to $127.
• Circle reported quarterly revenue of $701.32 million, up 6.6% year over year, but earnings of $0.18 per share missed expectations of $0.26; insiders sold roughly $158.8 million of stock during the last quarter.

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $78.59, but opened at $82.99. Circle Internet Group shares last traded at $81.9680, with a volume of 6,452,746 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Circle Internet Group from $150.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $45.00 price target on shares of Circle Internet Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners set a $100.00 price target on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Circle Internet Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on Circle Internet Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Circle Internet Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.12.

Circle Internet Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a PE ratio of 56.44 and a beta of 0.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.00 and its 200-day moving average is $86.13.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.08). Circle Internet Group had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $701.32 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($4.48) earnings per share. Circle Internet Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Circle Internet Group, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Circle Internet Group news, insider Nikhil Chandhok sold 26,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total value of $1,790,621.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 717,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,208,328. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Hossein Razzaghi sold 1,829 shares of Circle Internet Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.08, for a total value of $109,886.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 659,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,611,344.80. This represents a 0.28% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 2,052,639 shares of company stock worth $158,812,690 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Circle Internet Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Circle Internet Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Circle Internet Group by 28.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Circle Internet Group by 3,800.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 195 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Circle Internet Group by 170.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Circle Internet Group by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter.

Circle Internet Group Company Profile

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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