Silvergate Capital stock climbs after BTIG initiates at Buy, citing Q2 beat, growth prospects

Silvergate Capital (NYSE:SI) shares are perking up 4.4% in late Thursday morning trading after BTIG analyst Mark Palmer started coverage with a Buy rating. Palmer pointed to the crypto bank's stronger than expected Q2 earnings, which demonstrated its resilient business model in the wake of a crypto market rout, he wrote in a note to clients. "We view the company’s shares as inexpensive, especially in light of the anticipated launch of its new stablecoin offering [later in 2022], which we expect to serve as an accelerant of its revenue and earnings growth," Palmer contended. The bank's planned stablecoin platform is set to become a new source of low-cost deposits as well as an "incremental driver of its top and bottom lines," Palmer added. Overall, the analysts' optimism on Silvergate's (SI) growth prospects come as "our assessment of its existing operations and its ability to grow its balance sheet and earnings as the institutional adoption of digital assets continues," the note said. SA's Quant Rating, meanwhile, screens Silvergate (SI) stock as a Hold, while the average Wall Street Analyst views it as a Strong Buy. In July, BofA reiterated Silvergate as a Buy on "relatively stable" digital currency deposit growth.