On September 8, Circle Internet Corp. fell 5.08% in regular trading, trading at $96.79/share, with turnover of $774 million. The decline was driven by the announcement of a major all-stock acquisition and a neutral-toned analyst initiation.

Circle announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singapore-based B2B cross-border payments firm Tazapay for approximately $400 million in stock. Tazapay processes over $25 billion in annualized payment volume, partners with more than 60 banks and fintech firms, and covers over 100 markets, with roughly 60% of its transaction volume already involving stablecoins. The deal is expected to close next year, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approval, including from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

On the same day, Keefe Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage of Circle with a Market Perform rating and a $105 price target, below the consensus average overweight rating and mean target of $102.40, signaling a broadly neutral outlook. The combination of a sizable dilutive stock deal and a tepid analyst initiation appeared to weigh on sentiment, contributing to the session's selling pressure.

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