Shares of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) stock are in full focus today after Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) CEO Tobi Lütke reported purchasing shares. Lütke also serves as a Director on Coinbase’s board.
COIN stock has lost over 60% year-to-date (YTD) as the crypto market experiences a rough patch. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) are down about 50% YTD. A fall in demand for Coinbase’s service also correlates with the fall in crypto prices.
During the second quarter, Coinbase’s revenue clocked in at $808.3 million, declining nearly 64% year-over-year (YOY). The company also reported a net loss of $1.1 billion in Q2 2022, down from a net income of $1.59 billion in Q2 2021. Trading volumes also declined by 30% compared to Q1 2022.
Still, Lütke’s purchase echoes the executive’s confidence in this crypto brokerage. Let’s get into the details.
COIN Stock: Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke Purchases Shares
On Aug. 11, Lütke purchased 3,930 shares of COIN stock at an average price of $97.24. The executive purchased these shares through 7910240 Canada, of which Lütke is the sole director. After the purchase, the Shopify CEO now owns 29,430 shares through 7910240 Canada as well as another 522 shares directly.
This purchase was enacted via a prearranged 10b5-1 plan that was adopted on May 26. This hints that Lütke may purchase more shares further down the line through the plan.
Shopify is an active investor and also holds stakes in Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) and Global-E (NASDAQ:GLBE). The e-commerce company owns 20.29 million shares of AFRM stock as of Dec. 31, 2021 and 17.41 million shares of GLBE stock as of June 13.
So, with Lütke on board, let’s take a look at who else is betting on COIN stock.
Who Else Is Betting Big on Coinbase?
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and price support for stocks. During Q2, 585 funds reported owning COIN stock, a steep decrease from 760 funds in Q1. Furthermore, the institutional put/call ratio sits at 1.58, up from 1.01 during the previous quarter. This means that more funds own put options against the company than call options.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Coinbase’s top five shareholders:
- Brian Armstrong, CEO: 38.68 million shares, accurate as of Q4 2021.
- Fred Ehrsam, Cofounder: 18.35 million shares, accurate as of Q4 2021.
- Andreessen Horowitz: 14.86 million shares, accurate as of Q4 2021.
- AH Equity Partners: 10.86 million shares.
- Vanguard: 10.67 million shares.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan held a long position in SHOP. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
