How Should You Play The Coinbase IPO?
TM Editors Note: This article discusses one or more penny stocks and/or microcaps. Such stocks are readily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.
If you ask, "when is the Coinbase (COIN) IPO," the date you need to know is April 14th. This is when the first U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange goes public. What should you expect with this newest IPO?
As of April 12, 2021, the company announced that there are 130.7M shares of Class A common stock outstanding and 68.5M shares of Class B common stock outstanding. According to Coinbase, its fully diluted capitalization sits at 261.3M shares of common stock.
"This fully diluted capitalization share count includes the shares of common stock outstanding and all outstanding stock options and restricted stock units but does not include shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under Coinbase's equity compensation plans or its Pledge 1% commitment. Only shares of Class A common stock will be listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Trading of shares of Class A common stock is expected to commence on April 14, 2021. Each outstanding share of Class B common stock is convertible, at any time, at the option of the holder, into one share of Class A common stock." - Coinbase
The cryptocurrency company did $1.8 billion in revenue ahead of the Nasdaq listing in the first quarter of 2021. Net income is estimated between $730 million and $800 million, with a monthly active userbase of more than 6 million.
This IPO comes as cryptocurrency leader Bitcoin surpassed a new historic high on April 13th. Bitcoin futures reached a high of $64,450 during the session, while Ethereum futures extended to highs of $2,345. So should you buy COIN stock when it IPOs, or are there other ways to play the hype?
Crypto Stocks To Watch Ahead Of Coinbase IPO
You could play the COIN IPO a few different ways. One way is banking on any of the wildly hot cryptocurrency penny stocks that continue gaining momentum. This has names like Humbl Inc., ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. (CNET), and many OTC listed names trading higher right now. But some of the other ways to play the momentum is looking for tech companies with some crypto exposure.
Take, for instance, PayPal (PYPL). The stock went on one of its longest winning streaks on record leading up to the COIN IPO. Since April 2nd, PYPL stock has yet to close red, and April 13th saw the stock extend to its highest levels since the first week of March. The payment company was originally lauded for getting involved in bitcoin. Not only did the company buy crypto, it now offers its customers to purchase things like Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from its mobile app.
Square (SQ) is another mainstream name with ties to cryptocurrency. The company picked up $50 million worth last October. It bought another $170 million worth earlier this year. Square's CashApp allows its users to also purchase cryptocurrency on its platform. In fact, CashApp users were credited for flocking to the currency via the app. In a February interview, Square CFO Amrita Ahuja said, "We had 3 million people transact in bitcoin through Cash App in 2020 and 1 million who were new to bitcoin in January [2021]... Overall, the investment we made so far is 5% of our cash, and the business we have related to bitcoin through Cash App is about 5% of our gross profit. We’re going to evaluate this investment on an ongoing basis. We’ll be dynamic. We’ll respond to the market environment, but ultimately that long-term vision is what we’re investing into.”
You've also got companies like Tesla (TSLA) buying digital currency like Bitcoin. In February, the EV carmaker picked up $1.5 billion in bitcoin to build up its position to offer cryptocurrency payments for its cars. CEO Elon Musk has been a long-time supporter of digital currency, going as far as touting meme coins like Doge (which also reached new highs this week).
While these bigger names aren't the typical bitcoin mining stocks like Riot (RIOT) or Marathon Patent Group (MARA), having cryptocurrency on their balance sheets doesn't hurt when it comes time for earnings. That is, as long as these cryptos hold their value above the initial purchase price. Needless to say, with the upcoming Coinbase IPO this week, there are many different ways to play the sympathy hype aside from opening up your wallet and picking up the currency directly.
Disclosure: None.