By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Following the announcement that it is creating an NFT marketplace, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) stock has rallied as customers rushed to sign up, and analysts responded with positive calls.
After posting a 1% decline on Wednesday, Coinbase shares have turned around, gaining 5.7% to just over $260.
This morning, in a Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, "Over 1M people have signed up for Coinbase NFT since we launched yesterday."
Meanwhile, it was also reported that Sanchan Saxena, VP of Product, Ecosystem at Coinbase, said in a blogpost that the waitlist for the upcoming NFT marketplace "appears to have nearly 1.5M sign-ups."
The news has buoyed investors and analysts. Mark Palmer, an analyst at BTIG, said that he was bullish on Coinbase after an "emphatic reaction" to the NFT marketplace. Palmer maintains that as the company diversifies and becomes less dependent on transaction fees, the stock would rise to reflect its enhanced stability. The analyst currently has a Buy rating and a $500 price target on the shares.
Palmer wasn't the only analyst encouraged by the NFT Marketplace response, with JMP Securities analyst Devin Ryan raising the firm's price target on Coinbase to $330 from $300, keeping an outperform rating. Ryan said the marketplace represents a sensible extension of the company's business and possibly a tremendous long-term opportunity.
Coinbase states on its waitlist page that Coinbase NFT will initially be available to U.S. users with future expansion.