Coinbase Faces Delisting From Xetra and Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Deutsche Boerse said it would delist Coinbase from its exchanges by the end of day Friday for lacking the proper reference code. BY ROB LENIHAN , UPDATED: APR 21, 2021 9:51 AM EDT | ORIGINAL: APR 21, 2021
Coinbase (COIN) - Get Report was falling Wednesday after the Deutsche Boerse said it would delist the shares of the cryptocurrency exchange from its Xetra trading system and the Frankfurt stock exchange by the end of Friday's trading session for lacking a proper reference code. Shares were down 2.1% to $313.63 in early trading Wednesday, after closing down 3.4% in the previous day's session.
The so-called LEI code is mandatory for stocks to trade. While Coinbase provided such an identifier when trading started, the code turned out to be not linked to the listed entity, Bloomberg reported.
The only way to get Coinbase back into trading is for the issuer to apply for an LEI," a spokesman said. "We have contacted Coinbase for this purpose,” Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, Rosenblatt analyst Sean Horgan initiated coverage of Coinbase with a buy rating and $450 price target. Horgan said he was "bullish" on the stock over the long term as the company benefits from the growing adoption and acceptance of cryptocurrency, even though he is "more cautious" as the stock faces downside risk from a decline in the price of crypto.
The analyst said that while sustainable long-term growth is less uncertain, his expectations could also be "potentially conservative" given upside risk from institutional adoption and subscription revenue growth. Last week, Coinbase Global opened its first day of trading at $381 a share, 52% above its reference price of $250 a share. At that time, TheStreet's founder, Jim Cramer, told CNBC's Mad Money program that he considers Coinbase "the real deal," adding that if you're a "big believer in cryptocurrency ... you want to own Coinbase for the long haul." Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong, 38, who is the company's chief executive.