Circle Stock Upgraded to Buy With $150 Price Target Amid CLARITY Act Progress

Investment bank H.C. Wainwright has upgraded the Circle stock from neutral to buy with a price target of $150. The bank’s analyst cited catalysts such as the CLARITY Act and the USDC issuer’s Arc network launch as factors that could spark this rally for the crypto stock.

H.C. Wainwright Upgrades Circle Stock To Buy With Target of $150

H.C. Wainwright analyst Mike Colonnese has given the crypto stock a buy rating, representing an upgrade from neutral. At the same time, the analyst has raised the stock’s price target from $85 to $150, representing about a 30% upside from its current level.

The analyst cited the CLARITY Act as a bullish catalyst for Circle stock, with the USDC issuer set to gain regulatory clarity, which could further boost adoption of its stablecoin and its payment infrastructure. Notably, the crypto bill preserves stablecoin rewards, allowing crypto firms such as Coinbase to distribute activity-based rewards.

As CoinGape reported, the CLARITY Act advanced last week after the Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 in favor of the crypto bill. The bill will now head to the full Senate for consideration and eventual vote to pass it into law.

H.C. Wainwright described the CLARITY Act as a potential near-term positive catalyst for the Circle stock amid predictions that the bill could pass by early July. There is currently a 64% chace that U.S. President Donald Trump will sign the bill into law.

Meanwhile, the CRCL stock is down at the market open today amid this upgrade by H.C. Wainwright. TradingView data shows that the crypto stock is currently trading at around $113, also down 9% over the last five days.

The Arc Ecosystem As Another Bullish Catalyst

Colonnese cited the Arc ecosystem as another bullish catalyst for the Circle stock. He stated that they view the value-creation opportunity from the Arc network and the ARC token to Circle shareholders as “thesis changing.”

The analyst also alluded to the successful presale of the ARC token, which he indicated was a huge positive for the crypto stock. As CoinGape reported, Circle raised $222 million for Arc blockchain in a round supported by BlackRock, Apollo Fund, among others.

Meanwhile, H.C. Wainwright opined that Arc’s initial $3 billion fully diluted value appears undervalued based on its analysis of other layer-1 networks and the network’s use cases of stablecoin payments and tokenization. The investment bank also expects Circle’s rate-sensitive business to stabilize this year, given that the Fed is less likely to lower rates amid rising inflation.