Is Coinbase A Buy After Its 5% Drop?

Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 5.1% in the morning session after stocks with exposure to the crypto space declined.

Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 5.1% in the morning session as stocks with exposure to the crypto space declined.

The broader market declined as momentum in the crypto market weakened following a strong rally that began in the weeks leading up to the November 2024 elections.

Investors had hoped for more favorable regulation under a new administration, and while the incoming Trump administration's victory was initially viewed positively, the market now appears to be searching for new catalysts to sustain its momentum.

Additionally, profit-taking by investors may be contributing to the downturn. Notably, Bitcoin—the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization—fell by more than 10% after reaching a record high of $106,000 on December 16, 2024.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Coinbase? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Coinbase's shares are extremely volatile and have had 79 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 12 days ago when the stock gained 6.1% on the news that the major indices soared, with the Nasdaq up 1.4%, while the S&P rose 0.7% after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November 2024 which was in-line with expectations. The CPI rose 0.3% from the previous month, while headline inflation rose 2.7% year on year, nearing the Federal Reserve's 2% target but not quite there yet. The market reaction suggests investors interpreted the report as a signal for the Fed to lower rates, reinforcing expectations of a 0.25% cut at the December 2024 meeting.

As a reminder, the driver of a stock's value is the sum of its future cash flows discounted back to today. The result of lower interest rates, all else equal, is higher stock valuations. This is especially true for higher-growth stocks, such as those in the technology sector, where the current value depends more on cash flows many years out in the future.

Coinbase is up 71.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $268.74 per share, it is still trading 21.8% below its 52-week high of $343.62 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Coinbase’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $818.63.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story.