Morgan Stanley Initiates Coinbase Coverage with 40% Upside Target
Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage of Coinbase, assigning it an Equal Weight rating. The firm's analysts believe that the company's expansion beyond its exchange roots is a positive development, but note that it remains tied to the volatile crypto cycle.
The price target for Coinbase is $250, which implies around 40% upside from current levels. However, the analyst acknowledges that there is a wide range of potential outcomes, justifying a neutral stance.
Cyprys, the Morgan Stanley analyst, notes that Coinbase has evolved into a full-stack platform offering a range of services, including retail and institutional trading, custody, stablecoins, derivatives, staking, payments, and onchain infrastructure. The company's user base grew to 7.6 million monthly transacting users in Q2, with $246 billion in assets on the platform.
The analyst forecasts a cyclical reset in 2026, followed by a sharp rebound in 2027 and normalization in 2028. He expects Coinbase to generate around $3.0 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2028.