TD Cowen has lifted its price target for Strive, Inc. from $44 to $56, citing the company’s faster-than-expected accumulation of bitcoin.
Analysts Lance Vitanza and Jonnathan Navarrete said Strive had purchased more BTC during the past two weeks than they had forecast for the whole of the fourth quarter.
Strive’s bitcoin holdings have increased from 28,000 at the end of September to 35,595 BTC. At current prices, the holdings are worth roughly $2.9bn. The increase of almost 7,600 BTC has already significantly exceeded TD Cowen’s previous estimate that the company would buy 4,750 BTC during the quarter.
The latest purchases included 3,311 BTC announced on Tuesday and a further 2,822 BTC on Wednesday. That took Strive to the fourth-largest bitcoin holding among publicly traded companies, moving it just ahead of MARA’s reported 35,77 BTC.
However, the rapid growth in the company’s bitcoin treasury has been accompanied by a substantial rise in the number of shares outstanding. TD Cowen said this had put ASST “under pressure”.
“Despite rapid BTC accumulation, the substantial increase in diluted shares associated with warrant exercises pressured BTC Yield,” the analysts wrote.
They said some investors might have sold shares received after exercising warrants. However, the analysts expect that pressure to reduce because there are no more $27 warrants left.
Shares in ASST fell 6.6% to $23.96 on Friday. Despite the decline, the stock remains up more than 38% year to date.
Strive has also increased the size of its SATS preferred share offering to 7 million shares priced at $90 each. The company is seeking to raise $630m through the offering.
The deal is expected to close on Oct. 20. Strive plans to reserve enough cash to cover 18 months of dividend payments.
TD Cowen expects the offering to provide funding for further bitcoin purchases without requiring the company to issue additional common shares.
