MicroStrategy Bull Doubles Down on The Stock by Raising Price Target to Wall Street High

Wall Street brokerage Benchmark defended MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) bitcoin plan and raised the stock’s price target to $2,150 – the highest among analysts – even after the company reported a revenue miss during the second quarter.
Since adopting bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset in August 2020, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor-led company has appreciated 1,206%, Benchmark’s analyst Mark Palmer wrote in a research report on Friday. The stock’s performance, since then, stands in contrast to bitcoin (BTC), the S&P 500 and Nasdaq which have gained 442% 64% and 60%, respectively, he noted.
“While MSTR’s approach has had plenty of detractors, including those who have asked why anyone would buy its shares rather than simply buying bitcoin, management has responded to criticism by pointing to the scoreboard,” Palmer, who has a buy rating on the stock, said.
MicroStrategy’s shares were down about 1.2% on Friday, relatively outperforming other crypto-linked stocks. The bitcoin price and the broader CoinDesk 20 Index fell more than 3% in the last 24 hours.
Doubling down on its bitcoin strategy, the firm on Thursday introduced “Bitcoin Yield,” a key performance indicator that tracks the percentage change in the ratio of the company’s bitcoin holdings to its diluted shares outstanding. The new metric will make it easier for investors to track the firm’s bitcoin strategy’s performance, Palmer said.
MicroStrategy’s bitcoin yield year-to-date was 12.2%, the company said on the earnings statement. It targets 4%-8% in each of the next three years.
The firm on Thursday reported a second quarter net loss of $102.6 million as it took an impairment charge of $180.1 million on its bitcoin holdings. It currently holds 226,500 bitcoin which were acquired for an average of $36,821 per token.
Edited by Aoyon Ashraf.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
Helene is a New York-based reporter covering Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin ETFs and crypto exchanges. She is also the co-host of CoinDesk’s Markets Daily show. Helene is a graduate of New York University’s business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.