Square Inc. (NYSE:SQ) received a Neutral rating on Thursday and a price target of US$50 from Wedbush which approved of the firm’s monetization strategy, but had concerns about rich valuation.
The San Francisco mobile payment processor once again reported an acceptable first quarter, but the company’s widening losses on spending initiatives and bitcoin business spooked investors.
Square tumbled 4.8% to $46.35 in pre-market trade on Thursday.
Bitcoin Bust
What really threw investors for a loop is that Square generated US$34.1mln in bitcoin revenue last quarter but incurred $33.9 million in bitcoin costs.
The fintech company received a US$50 price target from Wedbush.
“We maintain a Neutral rating post another beat and raise quarter, as on one hand, we command management’s sounds strategy (monetization, network effect), while on the other hand, rich valuation keeps us on the sidelines,” Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri said in a note to clients.
Read: Square earnings and outlook disappoint as losses widen on high costs
For the quarter ended March 31, Square reported earnings of US$0.06 per share which matched on EPS and beat revenue estimates. But the company offered a forecast that fell short of analysts' estimates.
Square gave second-quarter revenue guidance in the range of US$355mln to US$360mln, above the US$334 mln Street estimate. But earnings will be between US$0.09 cents and US$0.11 cents per share, below analyst estimates of US$0.12.
Square, run by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, launched bitcoin trading in late January for most users of its cash mobile payments app.
Shares of Square SQ fell in April after noted short-seller Andrew Left's Citron Research said excitement over the payments processor's “bitcoin trading product was overdone.”
Square announced an agreement on April 26 to buy website-building company Weebly for US$365mln to expand its reach. The cash-and-stock deal will allow small business customers to use both Weebly and Square to easily build websites and online stores, the companies said.