HC Wainwright Issues Pessimistic Outlook for CRCL Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright lowered its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for Circle Internet Group slightly to $0.27 from $0.28, while keeping a Buy rating and $150 price target on the stock.
• Circle recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.21 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27, even though revenue rose 20% year over year to $694.13 million.
• The stock was down 1.7% to $102.40, and sentiment remains mixed overall, with MarketBeat showing a Hold consensus rating and a $137.12 average price target.

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE:CRCL - Free Report) - Research analysts at HC Wainwright reduced their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for Circle Internet Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, May 18th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Colonnese now forecasts that the company will earn $0.27 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.28. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Circle Internet Group's current full-year earnings is $1.07 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Circle Internet Group's Q3 2026 earnings at $0.37 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.40 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CRCL. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Circle Internet Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Circle Internet Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.12.

Circle Internet Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CRCL stock opened at $102.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion and a PE ratio of -32.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.24. Circle Internet Group has a twelve month low of $49.90 and a twelve month high of $298.99.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $694.13 million during the quarter. Circle Internet Group had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 2.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Circle Internet Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Circle Internet Group during the first quarter worth $382,000. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Circle Internet Group by 1,728.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 768 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Circle Internet Group by 31.1% during the first quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. now owns 24,422 shares of the company's stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Circle Internet Group during the first quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Circle Internet Group during the first quarter worth $248,000.

Insider Activity at Circle Internet Group

In other Circle Internet Group news, CAO Tamara L. Schulz sold 1,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.10, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,110,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 532,745 shares in the company, valued at $59,134,695. This trade represents a 1.84% 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 463,624 shares of company stock valued at $46,757,927 in the last ninety days. 10.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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