TD Cowen says buy stablecoin issuer Circle. Morgan Stanley thinks it’s time to sell

Cnbc · Aug 03, 2026 · 401 words · By Fred Imbert

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What to know about TD Cowen says buy stablecoin issuer Circle. Morgan Stanley thinks it’s time to sell

TD Cowen thinks a turnaround for Circle Internet Group may be in the cards, yet Morgan Stanley thinks it may be time to dump the stock.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

TD Cowen thinks a turnaround for Circle Internet Group may be in the cards, yet Morgan Stanley thinks it may be time to dump the stock.

Why it matters

TD Cowen initiated the stablecoin issuer with a buy rating.

Common ground

Its price target of $82 indicates upside of 31% from Friday's close.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: TD Cowen says buy stablecoin issuer Circle. Morgan Stanley thinks it’s time to sell?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/td-cowen-says-buy-stablecoin-issuer-circle-morga…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

schedule Pending 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results confirm that Morgan Stanley downgraded Circle Internet Group from 'equal weight' to 'underweight'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Circle Internet (CRCL) to underweight from equal-weight on Monday and cut its price target to $38 from $106, citing a weaker long-term earnings outlook.
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/08/03/circle-internet-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Odaily News: Morgan Stanley downgraded stablecoin issuer Circle Internet to Underweight and cut its price target from $106 to $38. The bank also lowered its su…
https://www.odaily.news/en/newsflash/506273

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web search NEUTRAL — Circle Internet Group has received a downgrade from Morgan Stanley, which has lowered its rating to Underweight from Equal Weight and reduced its price target to $38 from $106 after cutting long-term …
https://crypto.news/circle-shares-slide-after-morgan-stanley…

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Claim 2: “McKinsey estimates roughly $35T of adjusted volume, of which only $390B represents identifiable payments”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding McKinsey's estimates of stablecoin volume.

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Claim 3: “Circle shares have struggled, falling 21% year to date”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources report that Circle shares have fallen 21% year-to-date in 2026.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Circle Internet Group, Inc. is a payments technology company. Founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in 2013, it is currently headquartered in New York City and issues two types of stablecoin: USD…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Internet_Group

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dante Disparte is an American business executive, security advisor, and author. He is currently chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle Internet Group. Until 2021, he was deputy cha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Disparte

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — USDC (USD Coin) is a cryptocurrency stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Group. It is pegged to the United States dollar, and is distinct from a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USDC_(cryptocurrency)

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 4: “Shares were down nearly 6% in the premarket.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “It also slashed its price target to $38 from $106, implying downside of 39% from Friday's close.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Morgan Stanley slashed the price target from $106 to $38.

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web search NEUTRAL — Morgan Motor Company Limited is a British motor car manufacturer majority-owned by European [2] investment group InvestIndustrial. Morgan was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. The com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Motor_Company

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web search NEUTRAL — Global institutions, leading hedge funds and industry innovators turn to Morgan Stanley for sales, trading and market-making services. We offer timely, integrated analysis of companies, sectors, marke…
https://www.morganstanley.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Look no further than Morgan State University, your path to receiving a world-class education and a brighter future. In preparation for the workforce demands of today and the careers of tomorrow, Morga…
https://www.morgan.edu/

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Claim 6: “Bitcoin , the flagship cryptocurrency, has lost 28% of its value in 2026.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Bitcoin has declined by 28% in 2026.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a digital asset that uses cryptography to control its creation and management rather than relying on central authorities. Originally designed as a medium of exchange, Bitc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_bitcoin

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown person published a white paper under the p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The bitcoin protocol is the set of rules that govern the functioning of bitcoin. Its key components and principles are: a peer-to-peer decentralized network with no central oversight; the blockchain t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_protocol

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “Its price target of $82 indicates upside of 31% from Friday's close.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that TD Cowen set a price target of $82 for Circle Internet Group.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as five divisions: the UK Consumer Bank, UK Corporate Bank, Private Bank a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclays

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teach…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertie_Ahern

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Spring

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “President Donald Trump calling for its passing”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of Wikipedia entries for other presidents (FDR, LBJ) and the President of Ukraine, but contains no mention of Donald Trump calling for the passing of the Clarity Act.

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web search NEUTRAL — 13 hours ago · Franklin Delano Roosevelt[a] (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

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web search NEUTRAL — 13 hours ago · Johnson assumed the presidency in 1963, after Kennedy was assassinated. The following year, Johnson won reelection to the presidency in a landslide, winning the largest share of the pop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy received Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov. This was the Minister’s first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s f…
https://www.president.gov.ua/en

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Claim 9: “The remaining 14 rate it a buy or strong buy.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “TD Cowen initiated the stablecoin issuer with a buy rating.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that TD Cowen initiated coverage of Circle Internet Group with a 'Buy' rating.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “the Clarity Act — which aims to define regulations within the crypto industry.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results describe the CLARITY Act as proposed U.S. legislation intended to create comprehensive cryptocurrency regulations.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alberta separatism, also known as the Alberta sovereignty movement, consists of a series of 20th- and 21st-century movements advocating the secession of the province of Alberta from Canada, with some …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_separatism

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Clarity Act (French: Loi sur la clarté référendaire, known as Bill C-20 before it became law) is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Gove…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarity_Act

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: mouvement souverainiste du Québec, Quebec pronunciation: [muvmã suvʁɛnɪst d͡zy kebɛk]) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_sovereignty_movement

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “LSEG data shows that 16 of the 30 analysts covering Circle rate it a hold or sell.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly mention that LSEG data showed 16 of the 30 analysts covering Circle rate it hold or sell.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.