Coinbase share price hits highest point in nearly 2 years

The morning after Coinbase reported fourth quarter results beating analyst estimates, the company’s shares hit their highest price in nearly two years.

Coinbase’s stock price peaked at $193.64 Friday morning, according to Yahoo Finance — a level they hadn’t reached since March 2022, the data indicates.

The company’s shares were trading at about $190 at 11 am ET, up nearly 15% on the day.

Coinbase reported a net income of $273 million during the fourth quarter, ending a run of seven straight quarters with a net loss.

“Returning to profitability is part of our upgrade thesis, and this result can help change the unprofitable image,” Oppenheimer analysts wrote in a Thursday note.

The company closed out the year with four quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — amounting to $964 million.

Alyssa Choo, a crypto equities specialist at Bitwise, told Blockworks she believes the fourth quarter marks “a major positive inflection point” for Coinbase’s business.

Coinbase’s profitability in the fourth quarter doesn’t factor in the year-to-date positive crypto price action, Choo added. The total crypto market capitalization is up nearly 20% since the start of 2024, rising above $2 trillion.

“Second, Coinbase’s latest results don’t include the revenues it is making as the custodian for eight of the [10] spot bitcoin ETFs, which have in aggregate amassed $29 billion in assets under management,” she said. “I anticipate strong results for Q1 2024.”

Coinbase’s stock rose nearly 400% in 2023, outpacing bitcoin’s price gains of roughly 150% over the course of last year.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Coinbase were up 17.5% and 22% year to date, respectively, as of about 11 am ET.

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