What happened
Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN -0.34%) were tumbling once again today after an analyst cut his price target for the stock. Coinbase's shares have been falling hard over the past several trading days after the company said it received a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Coinbase's stock was down 9.7% as of 11:43 a.m. ET.
So what
Barclays analyst Benjamin Budish maintained an equal-weight rating on Coinbase stock today but lowered his price target for its shares from $86 down to $70.
Investors have been increasingly concerned about Coinbase after the company said last week that it was served a Wells Notice from the SEC, which indicates that the company could potentially be in violation of securities law.
Coinbase said the notice is "regarding an undefined portion of our listed digital assets, our staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet after a cursory investigation," according to a company blog post.
There is no formal charge or lawsuit right now, but some Coinbase investors aren't waiting around to see what happens. The company's share price has plunged about 18% over the past five days, and today's price target cut didn't help soothe investors' angst.
Other analysts have gone further than Barclay's price target cut, though. Analysts from Oppenheimer and TD Cowen both downgraded Coinbase stock last week, and Jefferies analyst Trevor Williams said that the Wells Notice was an "ominous sign."
Now what
While it's unclear how all of this will play out for Coinbase, investors are clearly getting worried about the company's potential legal fight with the SEC. While Coinbase has said that it's "confident in the legality of our assets and services" it appears that investors aren't so sure.
