Citizens initiated coverage on SharpLink Gaming (SBET) with a market outperform rating and a $50 price target, implying over 200% upside potential, the bank said in a report released Wednesday.
Shares were up 2% in early trading, around $15.45.
The bank’s bullish stance is based on a positive long-term view of Ether’s price trajectory, forecasting ETH above $7,000 by 2026 and potentially above $20,000 by 2030.
The report claims that SharpLink has quickly become one of the most ambitious Ethernet providers. treasury operators on public markets. After accumulating a substantial position in ETH, the company began deploying these assets into staking and other yield-generating strategies designed to increase value over time.
The stock provides a new entry point for investors seeking leveraged exposure to Ethereum’s growth, analysts led by Devin Ryan wrote.
Rather than operating as a passive vehicle holding bitcoin or ether, SharpLink aims to actively manage its ETH balance sheet, issuing shares at a premium to NAV or repurchasing them when trades are below NAV, and using its ETH reserves to capture on-chain yield opportunities, the analysts wrote.
Citizens describes this approach as a “flywheel” that can increase net asset value per share as the Ethereum ecosystem grows and institutional adoption accelerates.
The bank’s analysts also assigned a premium valuation to SharpLink based on the company’s leadership and strategy. This includes Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, as chairman and Joseph Chalom, a former BlackRock executive, as co-CEO, describing the team as uniquely positioned to evolve a treasury model that combines crypto-native expertise with institutional capital markets experience.
SharpLink’s strategy allows it to become a market leader as ether becomes a global financial asset, according to Citizens. By combining on-chain operational leverage with off-chain financial discipline, stocks could offer an attractive alternative to traditional digital asset investment vehicles, and one that investors could reward with a valuation premium.
SharpLink raised $76.5 million in a direct stock offering at an above-market price, the company announced Thursday.
