Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Makes New $44.62 Million Investment in Circle Internet Group, Inc. $CRCL

Key Points

• Contrarius Group Holdings opened a new position in Circle Internet Group, buying 562,678 shares valued at about $44.62 million. The stake represents roughly 2.2% of its portfolio and makes Circle its 14th-largest holding.
• Insider selling has been active, with President Heath Tarbert and Director Patrick Sean Neville both selling shares in recent transactions. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 236,617 shares worth about $25.0 million.
• Circle recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.21 per share, missing estimates, though revenue rose 20% year over year to $694.13 million. Analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average, with a consensus price target of $134.18.

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 562,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,620,000. Circle Internet Group comprises approximately 2.2% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd owned approximately 0.24% of Circle Internet Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Circle Internet Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 190 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Circle Internet Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bellevue Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Circle Internet Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Heath Tarbert sold 43,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.80, for a total transaction of $5,147,153.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 599,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,580,576.80. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick Sean Neville sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $2,941,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,941,200. This trade represents a 50.00% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 236,617 shares of company stock valued at $25,045,808. 10.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Circle Internet Group Price Performance

NYSE:CRCL opened at $80.19 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $103.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.64. Circle Internet Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.90 and a 1-year high of $298.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.06.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $694.13 million for the quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Circle Internet Group, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Circle Internet Group from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Circle Internet Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Circle Internet Group from $110.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Circle Internet Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.18.

Circle Internet Group 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.