Although the cryptocurrency market has cooled somewhat in recent days, the stock of Coinbase Global (COIN 0.15%) remains a very compelling buy. That's the opinion of Goldman Sachs (GS 2.02%) analyst Will Nance. On Monday he launched the investment bank's coverage of Coinbase with an unhesitant buy recommendation at a price target of $306 per share -- almost 36% above the most recent closing share price.
For Nance, Coinbase is more than a juicy buy on the basis of cryptocurrency's recent, white-hot popularity. In a research note, he wrote:
While we believe the core business today offers an attractive growth profile with the potential to drive high levels of profitability, we see significant white space for new initiatives to drive more stable and recurring revenue streams to complement the core trading business over the longer term.
"If meaningful parts of the economy can transition to blockchain and crypto-native technology over time, Nance added, "we see significant opportunity for [Coinbase] to benefit from its status as a critical element of the financial infrastructure for the ecosystem."
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Among the "infrastructure" services the prognosticator believes Coinbase can profit from are collateralized lending, and cryptocurrency and related investments through its venture capital unit. Nance also feels the company is in front of significant opportunities in the subscription space.
Coinbase, which is still a fresh title on the market following its April IPO, hasn't been as hot an investment as many of the cryptocurrencies it covers. It has fallen by over 31% since its debut on the stock exchange.
Perhaps its fortunes are beginning to change. On Monday it inched up by 0.4%, although it was outpaced by the S&P 500's nearly 1% rise.
