Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) Shares Up 6.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Circle Internet Group shares rose 6.5% on Monday to about $64.38, after trading as high as $64.56, though volume was well below average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $113.25, even after Robert W. Baird cut its target to $100 while Wells Fargo kept a bullish outlook with a $142 target.
• Circle recently reported revenue of $694.13 million, up 20% year over year, but earnings missed estimates at $0.21 EPS versus $0.27 expected; insiders also sold shares over the past three months.

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $64.56 and last traded at $64.38. 3,436,469 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 15,079,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CRCL. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Circle Internet Group from $138.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Circle Internet Group from $80.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Circle Internet Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.25.

Circle Internet Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion and a P/E ratio of -20.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is $86.77 and its 200 day moving average is $87.86.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.06). Circle Internet Group had a positive return on equity of 2.89% and a negative net margin of 2.76%.The company had revenue of $694.13 million for the quarter. Circle Internet Group's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Circle Internet Group, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Circle Internet Group news, insider Hossein Razzaghi sold 1,831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.40, for a total value of $117,916.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 662,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,687,926.40. This represents a 0.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider Nikhil Chandhok sold 26,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.90, for a total value of $1,703,957.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 725,068 shares in the company, valued at $46,331,845.20. The trade was a 3.55% 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,966,527 shares of company stock worth $156,751,921 over the last three months. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Circle Internet Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Circle Internet Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 190 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Circle Internet Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bellevue Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Circle Internet Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Circle Internet Group by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 378 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring 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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