Cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase Global (COIN 4.23%) is often considered a good proxy for popular digital coins and tokens. So its stock price tends to move largely in concert with prices of those assets. But it can also attract bullish investors on its own when it delivers a blowout quarter, like it did at the beginning of May.

Several analysts tracking the stock wasted little time raising their price targets on Coinbase stock after that event. One even feels the company's share price could zoom more than 41% higher. Is this realistic, or too pie-in-the-sky?

A post-earnings lift

H.C. Wainwright's Mike Colonnese upped his fair value estimation on the stock to $315 per share from his previous $300, while retaining a buy recommendation.

That wasn't shocking given the company's first-quarter performance. Coinbase convincingly crossed the $1 billion revenue barrier for the first time with nearly $1.6 billion in sales. That was more than twice what Coinbase posted for the same period in 2023.

Another impressive feat was the astonishing flip back to profitability. Net income was $1.2 billion (how's that for profit margin?) against the year-ago loss of $79 million.

After the earnings report, Colonnese opined that "while the recent pullback in crypto asset prices as well as the ongoing regulatory overhang could result in some additional downward pressure on shares over the short-term... we believe we are in the early innings of a bull cycle for crypto."

New rally imminent

Crypto was a very hot asset class early in the year, but the rally has lost some steam after the market priced in the new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Another deflating element was higher-than-expected inflation, which dampened the possibility of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Yet the economy is still in robust shape, those Bitcoin ETFs remain popular, and demand for all sorts of decentralized assets and systems remains strong. Colonnese's argument that a fresh rally is around the corner is entirely believable, and Coinbase should be a major beneficiary of the upswing.