Morgan Stanley Slashes Circle Stock Price Target Amid USDC Slowdown

Morgan Stanley downgraded Circle's stock to underweight from equal weight on August 3, cutting its price target from $106 to $38. The move comes ahead of Circle's second-quarter earnings report on August 5.

The analyst cited slower growth in USDC and increased competition from tokenized money market funds, tokenized deposits, and the Open USD stablecoin model as reasons for the downgrade. Morgan Stanley reduced its USDC supply forecasts by approximately 33% for 2027 and 44% for 2028.

Despite the downgrade, some technical analysts see a possible breakout point around $62. Market analyst Donald Dean noted that a move above the $62 high-volume price zone could confirm a bullish breakout, with a next target of $77. However, failure to hold this structure could lead to a drop below $50.