CRCL, COIN Stocks Dip After Hot CPI Data Overshadows Analyst Price Target Hikes

• Analysts at JPMorgan, Benchmark, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho, and Clear Street raised price targets on Circle and Coinbase following recent earnings results.
• Wall Street analysts said they increasingly view stablecoins and crypto infrastructure services as long-term growth drivers for both companies.
• However, the broader equity market was pressured after core CPI inflation came in above forecasts for April.

Shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) and Coinbase Global (COIN) dipped in morning trade on Tuesday despite getting a slew of price hikes from Wall Street on stablecoin momentum amid broader market weakness driven by hotter-than-expected core consumer price index (CPI) data.

CRCL’s stock fell over 4% in morning trade, but retail sentiment around the USDC (USDC) stablecoin issuer on Stocktwits remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day. Chatter stayed at ‘extremely high’ levels. 

COIN’s stock fell over 3% after market open, and also saw retail sentiment trending in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day. Chatter remained at ‘high’ levels.

The pullback came after April consumer price index data showed inflation pressures remaining elevated. Headline CPI rose 0.6% in April and 3.8% from a year earlier, in line with expectations. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.4% for the month, above Dow Jones estimates of 0.3%, according to MarketWatch data. Annual core inflation came in at 2.8%, also above Wall Street forecasts of 2.7%.

Both headline and core inflation remain above the Federal Reserve’s long-term 2% target.

 Hot CPI Data Pressures Stocks, Crypto Stays Steady

The U.S. equities market took a dive, while the cryptocurrency market held steady after the CPI report. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) dropped 0.4%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) slipped 0.66%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) moved 0.64% lower. Retail sentiment around SPY on Stocktwits trended in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by ‘normal’ levels of chatter. 

Meanwhile, the overall cryptocurrency market edged just 0.4% lower in the last 24 hours, in tandem with Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop in price. BTC’s price was trading at around $80,600 at the time fo writing. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency on Stocktwits trended in ‘neutral’ territory over the past day, accompanied by ‘normal’ levels of chatter. 

Wall Street Raises Targets On Circle, Coinbase

Benchmark raised its price target on COIN’s stock to $270 from $260 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. The firm said Coinbase is emerging from the recent crypto market downturn with stronger market share, growing stablecoin exposure, and ambitions to become an “everything exchange.”

Mizuho also lifted its Coinbase target to $200 from $170 while maintaining a ‘Neutral’ rating.

Analysts were similarly optimistic on Circle following the company’s quarterly results and continued USDC growth. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Circle to $101 from $83 while keeping a ‘Hold’ rating, describing the company’s first-quarter performance as “reasonably good.”

Mizuho increased its target on Circle to $135 from $120 and reiterated a ‘Neutral’ rating. Meanwhile, JPMorgan raised its target to $155 from $112 and maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating. The bank said Circle’s revenue shortfall in the quarter was outweighed by its longer-term strategic positioning in stablecoins and digital payments infrastructure.

“The company’s results demonstrate the more resilient nature of stablecoins relative to broader digital asset markets,” JPMorgan analysts wrote, pointing to continued growth in USDC circulation and transaction volume.

Stablecoin Adoption Remains The Key Bull Case

Clear Street also raised its target on Circle to $157 from $152 and reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating, even after describing the company’s quarterly results as soft.

The firm argued that Circle is increasingly evolving beyond a pure cryptocurrency business. Analysts pointed to the company’s Arc layer-1 network initiative, expanding USDC ecosystem, and growing infrastructure partnerships as signs that Circle is positioning itself as a broader financial infrastructure provider.

CRCL’s stock has gained nearly 60% this year, while COIN’s stock has fallen nearly 9% – more than Bitcoin’s price drop of around 8%. 

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