Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) Stock Price Down 7.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Circle shares fell 7.6% to about $59.39 in mid-day trading, with volume roughly 65% below the average session volume. The stock is trading well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $109.81, although recent targets range from $96 to $150 and one firm maintains a sell rating.
• Circle reported quarterly revenue of $694.13 million, up 20% year over year, but missed earnings estimates with EPS of $0.21 versus $0.27 expected. Insiders sold approximately $151.8 million of stock during the last quarter, mostly through pre-arranged trading plans.

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $59.46 and last traded at $59.3870. Approximately 5,188,025 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 14,809,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRCL. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Circle Internet Group from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Circle Internet Group from $111.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Freedom Capital raised Circle Internet Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Circle Internet Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.81.

Circle Internet Group Stock Down 5.0%

The stock has a market cap of $15.17 billion and a PE ratio of -18.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.04 and its 200 day moving average is $86.77.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $694.13 million for the quarter. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Circle Internet Group, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Circle Internet Group

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 725,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,331,845.20. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jeremy Allaire sold 3,032 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $203,629.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,346 shares in the company, valued at $4,254,317.36. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,914,327 shares of company stock worth $151,802,213 in the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Circle Internet Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRCL. General Catalyst Group Management LLC purchased a new position in Circle Internet Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,647,694,000. IDG Accel China Capital II Associates L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Circle Internet Group in the fourth quarter valued at $554,792,000. Accel XI Associates L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Circle Internet Group in the fourth quarter valued at $513,844,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in Circle Internet Group by 175.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,300,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Circle Internet Group during the 4th quarter valued at $163,948,000.

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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