158-year-old bank refuses to upgrade surging crypto stock

Anand Sinha

Fri, February 27, 2026 at 4:09 AM GMT+9 3 min read

In this article:

CRCL

+3.74%

USDC-USD

+0.01%

USDT-USD

-0.00%

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), the crypto firm popular for its USDC stablecoin, reported Q4 2025 earnings on Feb. 25.

The firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.43, beating Wall Street estimates of $0.35 by 22.86%. The quarterly revenue stood at $770 million, slightly above the estimated $745 million. USDC on-chain transaction volume in Q4 stood at $11.9 trillion, up 247%.

**“USDC adoption continued to expand globally as more enterprises, developers, and public institutions integrated digital dollars into real-world payments, treasury, and onchain financial workflows," **said Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire.

As per DeFiLlama, the USDC market cap stands at $75 billion and accounts for 24% of the total stablecoin market cap. Tether’s USDT continues to maintain its dominant position with around 60% market share.

Following the earnings release, several leading analysts shared fresh stock assessments on Circle Internet Group.

Related: Wikipedia founder reveals shocking Bitcoin price target

William Blair reiterates Outperform rating

William Blair reiterated an Outperform rating on Circle and encouraged long-term investors to build positions in the company, Investing.com reported.

The investment bank admitted that stablecoin adoption outside the crypto ecosystem is still in the early stages but is convinced USDC will occupy a significant share of a roughly $20 trillion cross-border B2B market.

The bank highlighted the USDC stablecoin’s 100% fiat backing, compliance, and network effects from Circle’s first-to-market infrastructure as supporting factors.

Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:

**Wikipedia founder reveals shocking Bitcoin price target**

**Cathie Wood sends blunt message after Bitcoin crashes**

**Bank of America resets new gold forecast**

Needham slashes stock price target

Needham cut the price target on Circle from $190 to $130 and maintained a Buy rating, Investing.com reported.

The investment bank said lower forecasted interest rates and crypto price declines potentially impacting USDC supply growth compelled it to lower the price target on the CRCL stock.

Needham said it sees Circle operating in two major verticals:

Agentic AI use cases with on-chain transactions and stablecoin micropayments

Tokenization of real-world assets

H.C. Wainwright reiterates Neutral rating

H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Neutral rating on Circle, Investing.com reported. The 158-year-old investment bank offered a price target of $85 on the crypto firm.

The bank attributed Circle’s robust revenue growth to network effects, with USDC now supported on 30 blockchain networks, regulatory tailwinds from the GENIUS Act, and growing use cases of stablecoins.

Story Continues  

Once the USDC market cap soars and there is greater clarity around the Federal Reserve’s rate path in 2026, H.C. Wainwright said it could get more constructive on Circle.

More News:

**America’s most shorted stock is Wall Street’s Bitcoin machine**

**Major gold holder invests in Peter Thiel-backed company**

**'Black Swan' author warns investors to brace for bankruptcies**

Morgan Stanley hikes stock price target

Following the release of Circle’s earnings report, Morgan Stanley raised the price target on the stock from $66 to $80, a surge of more than 21%.

As per the Investing.com report, the 91-year-old bank continued to maintain an Equalweight rating on the Circle stock.

Morgan Stanley raised its net margin assumptions in 2027 and 2028 by 1.3% and 2.85%, as it expects lower operating expenses than previously modeled.

The investment bank kept its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple at 25x, which means investors would be willing to pay $25 for every $1 of profit.

It applied the 25 times P/E ratio to its updated calendar year 2028 GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) estimate of $3.28, up from the previous estimate of $2.63.

Circle stock closes 35% higher on earnings beat

Following the release of the earnings report, the Circle stock closed 35% higher at $83.14 on Feb. 25.

The CRCL stock was trading more than 4% higher at $86.66 at the time of writing.

Related: Circle stock surges 30% after earnings beat Wall Street estimates

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Terms and Privacy Policy

Privacy Dashboard

More Info