XYZ Stock Upgraded To ‘Buy,’ Cantor Raises Targets On Crypto Plays, Sees Bear-Market Bottom

StoneX analyst Mark Palmer upgraded Block to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and set a $105 price target, citing progress from the company’s AI-focused reorganization.

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on crypto treasury companies Sharplink Gaming, Forward Industries and Bitmine Immersion Technologies.
• It maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on all three stocks and said the current crypto bear-market drawdown could bottom by October 2026.
• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Coinbase with an ‘Equal Weight’ rating, citing caution on the company’s cyclical earnings.

Crypto-linked stocks received a fresh round of bullish calls from Wall Street, with Block (XYZ) upgraded to ‘Buy’ and Cantor Fitzgerald doubling down on three other crypto plays amid expectations that the recent market downturn could be nearing its end.

Cantor Fitzgerald raised the price target on Sharplink Gaming (SBET) to $17 from $8.30, while doubling the price target on Forward Industries (FWDI) to $16 from $8 and on Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) to $63.60 from $30.60. The firm maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on all three.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Coinbase (COIN) with an ‘Equal Weight’ rating and $250 price target. 

Block Gets An Upgrade On AI-Driven Reorganization

In a note to investors cited by TheFly, StoneX analyst Mark Palmer upgraded Block to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with a $105 price target. The call comes roughly seven months after Jack Dorsey announced that the company would cut about 40% of its workforce and pivot toward an "intelligence-native" operating model with agentic intelligence at its center.

Palmer said early evidence suggests the reorganization is beginning to show results. He pointed to shipping velocity, a permanently lower cost base and a pipeline of new growth engines.

He added that the output from Block’s agentic AI platform has been "impressive," while margin improvement represents "the other significant dividend that Block has gained from its reorganization.”

XYZ stock edged 0.3% higher in morning trade on Thursday. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the shares improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. 

Cantor Sees Crypto Downturn Nearing A Bottom

Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price targets on SBET, FWDI and BMNR stocks, citing recent momentum in crypto markets. The firm said it was "mindful" of potentially choppy price action in the months ahead but believes the current bear-market drawdown will likely have bottomed by October 2026.

All three stocks bucked the broader market decline in morning trade. FWDI stock edged 0.7% higher, while BMNR and SBET shares gained over 1%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SBET remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day while sentiment around FWDI and BMNR fell to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory. 

Morgan Stanley Notes Coinbase’s Earnings Remain Highly Cyclical

According to Morgan Stanley, Coinbase’s scale, liquidity, regulatory infrastructure and product breadth position it to remain a central access and infrastructure provider as digital assets become more integrated into the regulated financial system.

The firm said it sees "meaningful strategic value" in Coinbase’s positioning and believes the company is well placed to benefit from greater convergence between crypto and traditional finance.

However, Morgan Stanley noted that Coinbase’s earnings remain highly cyclical, while incremental growth is increasingly coming from less proven businesses.

COIN stock edged 0.4% in morning trade, with retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the shares falling to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory. 

All Eyes On Friday’s CPI Data

Both Bitcoin and U.S. equities were under pressure Thursday, with Bitcoin’s price falling more than 2% over the past 24 hours and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) edging 0.5% lower.

U.S. producer prices rose 0.4% in August, in line with expectations. On a year-over-year basis, however, producer prices increased 5.4%, up from a 4.7% increase in July.

The latest inflation data comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s policy meeting next week. Investors are now awaiting the consumer price index (CPI) report on Friday, which could set the tone for the Fed’s rate trajectory.

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