Silvergate Loses a Bull as KBW Analyst Downgrades on Limited Visibility

Silvergate Capital's (SI) rating was lowered to market perform from outperform on Tuesday by one of the few remaining bullish analysts on the stock, citing limited visibility on the crypto bank's outlook.

Analyst Michael Perito at investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) also lowered the price target to $16 from $25, according to a research note sent to clients.

"With limited earnings and fundamental visibility over the past two months, we believe a market perform rating is more reflective of the risk/reward profile for SI at this time, with a wide range of outcomes possible over the coming months," Perito wrote in the note.

However, the downgrade doesn't mean the analyst is giving up completely on the stock. "As SI's shares have fallen, we have defended the bank's management, operating platform, role within FTX's platform and strength of their balance sheet. We still feel validated on these positions," Perito wrote. However, the volatility in crypto industry in the wake of FTX bankruptcy "made utilizing fundamental valuation models challenging" for the next twelve-months for the stock, he noted.

Stung by the crypto winter in general and then by November's FTX exchange collapse in particular, Silvergate is down nearly 90% on a year-over-year basis, while bitcoin fell 46%.

Perito's last rating change on Silvergate was in January 2022, when he upgraded the shares – then trading above $100 – to outperform with $225 price target. The stock currently has two buys, five holds and one sell rating, with average price target about $15 per shares, according to FactSet data.

Read more: Silvergate Stock Tanks on Report of DOJ Probe Tied to FTX, Alameda Dealings