Good news today for Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), as the cryptocurrency stock took home a win at the Supreme Court. It was a narrow win, but a win nonetheless. And one that gave investors a reason to cheer. Coinbase was up around 7% at one point in Friday afternoon’s trading, and a lot of that win likely traces back to the one the Supreme Court offered.
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The court found that a company engaged in litigation must have that litigation halted if the defendant begins an appeal that would ultimately swing the case toward arbitration instead. Justice Brett Kavanaugh detailed in the majority opinion that the only question involved was whether a district court needed to stop litigation until the appeal that might end in arbitration is running. The majority found that was, indeed, the case. Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, cited Griggs v. Provident Consumer Discount Co. case as a reason behind the decision.
That wasn’t the only thing that gave Coinbase an edge, though. Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong noted that Coinbase ultimately had the potential to become a “super app.” Just what is a “super app” in this context? It means an app like Alipay, which can not only offer mobile payment operations, but also other tools like chat, consumer lending, and even ordering food and paying for it with cryptocurrency. It’s certainly possible; one of the oldest use cases for Bitcoin (BTC-USD) stretches back to 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz offered a 10,000 Bitcoin reward for anyone who would bring him pizza. The anniversary of this event is known as Bitcoin Pizza Day and is still celebrated every May 22.
Analysts, however, have clear concerns. The analyst consensus calls Coinbase stock a Hold, and the consensus is about as split as can be with eight Buys, nine Holds, and seven Sells. Coinbase stock’s average price target of $58.85, meanwhile, gives it a slight 3.92% downside risk.
