Bitcoin Surges Past $100K, Driving Retail Buzz For MARA, HOOD, RIOT, MSTR, CLSK At Thursday’s Market Open

Bitcoin’s surge above the $100,000 mark has sparked intense retail interest in crypto-related stocks, which are witnessing mixed price reactions on Thursday morning. 

While most Bitcoin-related stocks opened in the green, many slipped back into the red an hour an hour into morning trading.

Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up about 45% in the four weeks since President-elect Donald Trump's election victory, which also saw a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers being elected to Congress.

At Thursday’s market open, Bitcoin was trading above $103,000, fueling further excitement. The cryptocurrency’s all time high currently stands at $103,679.

Stocks such as MARA, HOOD, BTC, RIOT, and MSTR were leading the charge in terms of message activity.

Here's a look at the top trending Bitcoin-linked stocks that are driving the buzz on Stocktwits:

MARA Holdings Inc. 

MARA Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

MARA, one of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the world, saw its stock soar over 8% at market open as Bitcoin’s gains continued to rise. The rally, however, fizzled out by 10:50 a.m. ET.

Retail sentiment jumped to ‘bullish’ (62/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago, with an uptick in message activity to high (67/100).

Overall, MARA saw a 30% increase in message count in the last 24 hours, according to Stocktwits data. 

MARA is the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin with over 34,000 Bitcoin in its coffers valued at approximately $3.6 billion. 

The stock has gained more than 17% year-to-date.

Robinhood Markets Inc.

Robinhood Markets Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Robinhood shares were up 1.2% at the market open fueled by Bitcoin’s gains and a slew of price target increases from Wall Street after the exchange’s first investor day. Like MARA, HOOD's shares were also in the red an hour into the market open.

The most bullish take came from Piper Sandler. The brokerage raised its price target to $54 from $42, while keeping an ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock.  It believes the combination of strong brand recognition, a relatively small market share, and a robust product roadmap position Robinhood well for future growth.

Retail sentiment for the stock jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ (81/100) from ‘neural’ a day ago, along with an uptick in chatter to ‘extremely high’ (86/100).

According to Stocktwits data, message count jumped 277% in the last 24 hours. 

While Robinhood doesn’t have any Bitcoin on its balance sheets, as Bitcoin trading volumes increase, the exchange benefits from transaction fees and increased user engagement. 

The stock has more than quadrupled in value so far this year.

Riot Platforms Inc. 

Riot Platforms Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Shares of Riot Platforms, another major player in the Bitcoin mining industry, jumped more than 7% at market open on Thursday but were down 1.39% at 10:50 a.m. ET.

Retail sentiment around the stock flipped to ‘extremely bullish’ (77/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago with an uptick in message volume to ‘high’ (63/100).According to Stocktwits, there has been a 51% increase in message count over the last 24 hours. 

Riot is the second largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency with 11,425 Bitcoin on its balance sheets, valued at approximately $1.2 billion. 

The stock has fallen over 13% this year so far, despite Bitcoin’s gains. The Bitcoin miner has faced a challenging environment since the Bitcoin halving in April, which reduced the rewards for mining new blocks by half.

MicroStrategy Inc.

MicroStrategy Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, saw its stock surge as much as 9%  at market open. But it slipped more than 2% an hour after the opening bell.

The Michael Saylor-owned company has 402,100 Bitcoin on its balance sheets, valued at a whopping $41 billion. 

Retail sentiment around the stock flipped to ‘bullish’ (58/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago with an uptick in message volume to ‘normal’. 

As compared to its peers, MicroStrategy only saw a 29% jump in message count over the last 24 hours. 

However, the stock’s gains are the largest among Bitcoin-linked stocks, registering a 507% jump year-to-date.

CleanSpark Inc. 

Cleanspark Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark’s shares surged as much as 8% at the market open on Thursday. It managed to hold onto some of its gains, in the green 0.3% an hour later.

The company differs from others, claiming it’s a “sustainable” Bitcoin mining company focused on energy-efficient practices.

Macquarie also raised its price target on the company to $24 from $20 on Wednesday, citing that despite CleanSpark’s earnings miss on Monday, it has a higher chance of succeeding than peers amid the rising mining difficulty. 

The company has 9,297 Bitcoin in its treasury, valued at around $957 million.

Although the stock has gained 39% year-to-date, its performance falls short of Bitcoin’s impressive 136% rise over the same period.

Coinbase Global Inc. 

Coinbase Global Sentiment and Message Volume on Dec 5 as of 9:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Coinbase stock was up over 8% at market open on Thursday after Bitcoin’s overnight rally. 

Retail sentiment around the stock remained in the ‘bullish’ territory with a uptick in message volume to ‘high’. According to Stocktwits data, the ticker saw a 45% jump in message count over the last 24 hours. 

The company has 9,720 Bitcoin on its balance sheet valued at around $976 million.

The cryptocurrency exchange has gained 117% so far this year, almost at par with Bitcoin’s gains. 

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