Bernstein cuts Circle price target to $140, maintains Outperform rating

TechFlow reports, July 29, according to The Block, Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani lowered Circle (CRCL) price target from $190 to $140, but maintained an "outperform" rating, implying approximately 118% upside from the current share price of $64.32. Bernstein expects Circle's Q2 performance to be largely flat, with USDC supply decreasing from $77 billion at the end of Q1 to $73 billion.

Regarding market concerns about the competitive threat of the Open USD alliance, Bernstein believes it lacks cohesion, and Visa also stated it will maintain a multi-currency, multi-chain strategy, and will not bet on a single winner. Additionally, Circle's revenue-sharing agreement with Hyperliquid is expected to transfer approximately $190 million in reserve earnings annually to the latter, with the full impact to be reflected in Q3. Bernstein also lowered its end-of-2026 USDC supply forecast by 37% to $83 billion, but remains bullish long-term on Circle capturing approximately 30% of the global stablecoin market by 2035.