Needham analysts increased Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) price target to $120.00 from $70.00 while keeping their Buy rating unchanged. This adjustment follows a summary judgment related to the Ripple case.
According to the analysts, the recent court ruling in the Ripple case with the SEC provides several key takeaways. Firstly, the court granted the SEC’s motion, stating that institutional sales (initial XRP token sales) violated securities laws. However, the court denied the SEC’s motion regarding programmatic sales (secondary XRP sales on crypto exchanges), as they did not constitute an investment contract. The court also denied the SEC’s motion regarding other non-cash distributions, ruling that these distributions did not qualify as an investment contract since there was no exchange of money involved.
This judgment is seen as a positive development for Coinbase as it sets a precedent indicating that crypto token sales through exchanges, at least in the case of XRP, did not violate securities laws. The analysts believe that this outcome should moderately reduce the regulatory pressure on the stock, thereby decreasing associated risks.