Bitcoin Group, wallstreet:online AG, Palantir - How to handle inflation?

Bitcoin Group - Trading and owning crypto

Bitcoin Group SE is a holding company focused on innovative and disruptive business models and cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. The Group holds 100% of the shares in futurum bank AG, which operates a trading platform for selected digital currencies under Bitcoin.de. Furthermore, it owns 50% of Sineus Financial Services GmbH, a financial services provider supervised by BaFin.

Bitcoin Group is able to perform well in the environment of flourishing cryptocurrencies. The Group generated revenues of EUR 17.7 million for the half-year, compared to EUR 6.2 million in the same period last year. EBITDA swung upward to EUR 14.4 million from EUR 4.2 million, an outright threefold increase. The result is earnings per share of EUR 2.03 (previously: EUR 0.70), which corresponds to an increase of 190%. The dynamic increase is accompanied by a substantial increase in trading turnover on the cryptocurrency platform Bitcoin.de and consequently a significant expansion of commission income. The trading portfolios also regularly result in high growth in the Group's crypto portfolio. The solid capitalization thus continues to enable Bitcoin Group SE to pursue its growth strategy in a targeted and flexible manner.

In an environment of increasing uncertainty on the markets and higher inflation, coins are gaining importance for asset protection. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are a recognized investment medium even among professional investors. Bitcoin.de now trades for more than one million customers. The Bitcoin Group share was already at EUR 82.50 in 2021 and subsequently corrected by more than 50%. Currently, it is trading at EUR 53, just above your crypto holdings plus cash, and the platform and customer base is valued at zero. GBC Research issues a "buy" rating with a target of EUR 120.

wallstreet:online - Broker and financial media under one roof

The wallstreet:online Group (W:O AG) can look back on a steady development in 2021, as the overall entity is getting better and more professional. With the project "Smartbroker", the Company is mixing up the landscape of neobrokers nicely. Because: Smartbroker is a hybrid - how to explain that? Quite simply: the price for trading is close to the neobrokers, and on the other hand, the investor finds a lot of what one would typically expect from a direct bank of the first hours - a lot of service and information.

The difference with Smartbroker from other neobrokers is that there are many more alternatives in selecting trading partners. In addition, Smartbroker can draw on a good mix of customers in the age range of between 30 and 50. On the one hand, this customer stratum is much more experienced in the capital markets. On the other hand, they have a higher average portfolio value compared to a neobroker. Neobroker customer portfolios operate on average a "play portfolio" of EUR 3,000 to EUR 5,000, while Smartbroker customers have an average of EUR 33,000. The next step for Smartbroker is to expand their license to become a securities trading bank, i.e. to extend their services to the entire trading range of financial products.

The second main pillar of W:O AG is the original online media business; it comprises the operation of four stock market portals with a wide reach. With around 380 million monthly page impressions, the Group is the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in the German-speaking world and the largest financial community. Almost 1 million finance-savvy users are registered in the forums of the four online portals, a target group that gets up and goes to bed with the stock market every day.

In the 2021 forecast, CEO Matthias Hach assumes a much better year than 2020. Nevertheless, there will still be a lot of investments in the new group structure. Looking at the off-market valuation of Trade Republic, one finds an astonishing valuation of about EUR 4 billion. At a share price of EUR 21, the wallstreet:online Group weighs in at a mere EUR 298 million. Considering how many topics are represented here compared to a neobroker, there is still much room for improvement for the W:O share.

Palantir Technologies - The octopus in the information universe disappoints

US-based Palantir Technologies is like an octopus with many legs when it comes to data mining. The Company is per se a pro at collecting and analyzing consumer and movement data from thousands of people. Its most lucrative clients come from the government sector, where Palantir is repeatedly booked for highly sensitive issues.

The AI-driven Company posted consolidated revenue of just under USD 392 million in the third quarter of 2021, representing 36% growth. That was below analysts' expectations, as the sequential figure from the previous quarter was plus 49%. Operating income, meanwhile, was minus USD 92 million, compared with minus USD 848 million a year earlier. The bottom line is an adjusted net loss of USD 102 million or USD -0.05 (previous year: USD -0.94). Overall, this exceeds the Company's expectations, but Wall Street's whisper estimates were probably much higher, as Palantir crashed by almost 20% after the figures.

In the current case, the volatility is linked to a downgraded margin outlook by Palantir for the current quarter. The Denver-based Big Data specialist now expects an operating margin of only 22%, significantly lower than what it has been used to recently. In all three quarters of 2021, the value had been beyond 30%.

The Palantir share is technically stuck with this disappointment again at the USD 28 mark, which leads to short-term stop-loss sales. At the peak, these could reach the support line of USD 20. Therefore, one should wait with new engagements until the actual direction of the price development is certain. Currently, the negative scenario of a further correction prevails.

The stock markets have shown a lot of volatility in recent weeks. Profiteers of a rising uncertainty are the precious metals and the crypto exchanges because the investor wants to achieve maximum diversification in his asset structure, which lowers the risks. Bitcoin Group and wallstreet:online are benefiting from the high turnover on the trading venues. Palantir Technologies is ambitiously valued and must first provide proof as a yield driver.