Jim Cramer says Circle Internet stock is ‘too hot’ at current levels

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday examined Circle Internet, a stablecoin issuer that made a splash during its market debut last week, saying he’d wait to buy the stock until it has retreated from recent highs.

“Circle Internet Group’s a solid company, but the stock, right now, has gotten too hot for me. I can’t recommend it up here,” he said. “Why don’t you let it cool off before you even think about pulling the trigger.”

Circle Internet founded USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin meant to act as fiat money on the internet. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin on the market behind Tether’s USDT. The stock opened at $69 last Thursday after being priced at $31, and shares soared 168% during the session.

Cramer likened stablecoins to casino chips in the crypto currency space, explaining that they can be used to buy other cyrpto currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but retain their value. According to Cramer, Circle Internet’s stablecoin business is more transparent than that of Tether, saying it’s unclear what the latter is doing with its reserves. USDC, however, is backed by genuine reserves of fiat currency, with Cramer calling it “a more sanitized, less-sketchy version of the stablecoin concept.”

He was also impressed with Circle Internet’s financials, saying it seems business is good and USDC is popular. But it’s hard to justify buying shares when the company’s valuation has swelled dramatically, from $5.5 billion to around $25 billion in a matter of weeks, Cramer said. Plus, he continued, the company is still linked to the ever-volatile crypto ecosystem, telling investors they’ll “get a better buying opportunity simply by being patient.”

Cramer warned that the IPO market in general is “starting to get a little crazy here,” pointing to CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence infrastructure outfit that went public in March. The Nvidia-backed company was the biggest tech IPO in the U.S. since 2021, and it closed flat at $40 after its first day of trading. But now the stock trades at about $162, which Cramer said he finds to be a little extreme.

 “This is the type of action that gets people hurt, so I need you to be a little careful.”

Circle Internet and Tether did not immediately respond to request for comment.