Clear Street has initiated coverage of Bakkt (BKKT) with a buy rating and a $14 price target, implying 44% upside after a steep year-to-date decline. Bakkt shares were up 0.7% at around $9.83 in early Wednesday trading, though the stock has fallen over 60% this year compared with an 11% gain for the S&P 500.
The company has streamlined operations, selling non-core units like Loyalty and Custody to focus on its blockchain-native payments platform. Bakkt now operates on two main pillars: Crypto Services for institutions and its Digital Transfer and Remittance (DTR) platform, which builds stablecoin payment infrastructure. Trading at just 2.9x projected 2027 EV/EBITDA, Bakkt is well-positioned to capture a share of the $190 trillion cross-border payments market, analysts led by Brian Dobson said.
Clear Street projects 14% annual revenue growth through 2027, driven by DTR, with stablecoin transactions offering nearly double the margins of crypto services. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to turn positive by early 2026, reaching $49 million in 2027 following a $60 million cost reset. DTR is slated to expand to 36 countries by late 2025 and over 90 by 2026, with transaction volume forecast at $2.6 billion by 2027.
Bakkt’s institutional-first model targets regulated partners such as remittance firms and neobanks, leveraging its BitLicense and 50+ state money transmitter licenses for compliance and rapid scaling. With high-margin stablecoin flows and operating leverage, Clear Street sees Bakkt as an underappreciated stablecoin infrastructure play with significant upside. Rival broker Benchmark also initiated coverage with a buy rating and $13 target on Monday.
