Citizens has initiated coverage on SharpLink Gaming (SBET) with a market outperform rating and a $50 price target, implying a potential upside of more than 200%, the bank said in a Wednesday report.
Shares were 2% higher in early trading, around $15.45.
The bank’s bullish stance rests on a positive long-term view of ether’s price trajectory, predicting ETH above $7,000 in 2026 and potentially above $20,000 in 2030.
The report argued that SharpLink has quickly emerged as one of the most ambitious ethers treasury operators on the public markets. After accumulating a significant ETH position, the company has begun deploying these assets in stakes and other return-bearing strategies designed to compound value over time.
The stock is a new entry point for investors seeking leveraged exposure to Ethereum’s growth, analysts led by Devin Ryan wrote.
Instead of acting as a passive vehicle with bitcoin or ether, SharpLink aims to actively manage its ETH balance, issue shares at a premium to net asset value or buy it back when it trades below NAV, and use its ETH reserves to capture on-chain return opportunities, the analysts wrote.
Citizens describes this approach as a “flywheel” that can drive NAV per share higher as the Ethereum ecosystem expands and institutional adoption accelerates.
The bank’s analysts also assigned SharpLink a premium rating based on the company’s management and strategy. This includes Joseph Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum, as Chairman and Joseph Chalom, a former BlackRock executive, as Co-CEO, describing the team as ideally positioned to scale a treasury model that blends crypto-native expertise with institutional capital markets experience.
SharpLink’s strategy positions it to become a market leader as ether matures into a global financial asset, according to Citizens. By combining operational leverage on-chain with financial discipline off-chain, the shares can offer a compelling alternative to traditional digital asset investment vehicles, and one that investors can reward with a valuation premium.
SharpLink raised $76.5 million in a direct stock offering at an above-market price, the company said Thursday.
