Barclays raises Strategy price target to $175, keeps buy rating
The bank's analyst places the Bitcoin-heavy company alongside payments players like Visa and Mastercard, not just crypto proxies
Barclays just gave Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) a fresh vote of confidence. On October 9, 2026, analyst Nik Cremo reaffirmed his Overweight rating, the bank’s version of a buy, and lifted his 12-month price target to $175 from $160.
The more interesting move is the categorization. Barclays places Strategy within the US payments and fintech sector, comparing it to Visa and Mastercard rather than treating it purely as a Bitcoin vehicle.
The details behind the upgrade
The new $175 target implies a potential upside of approximately 15-16% from recent trading levels. MSTR shares have bounced between $151 and $158 lately.
The stock closed at $151.47 on October 8, 2026. Pre-market trading the next morning showed modest gains as the Barclays note circulated.
The numbers Strategy is working with
Strategy holds about 845,000 BTC as a treasury asset. That stash is the central fact of the company’s existence, and it shapes its financial results in ways that can look strange at first glance.
In the second quarter, Strategy reported revenue of approximately $122.4 million. That was up 7% from the same period a year earlier.
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The bottom line told a different story. Net losses were affected by unrealized moves in the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
How Barclays got here
Barclays has not always been this optimistic. The bank initiated coverage of Strategy on July 8, 2026, with a target of $130.
After Strategy’s second-quarter results, Barclays trimmed that target to $125. The target then rose to $160 before the new $175 figure, extending a run of upward revisions since that post-earnings cut.
Barclays is also not the most bullish voice on the Street. Citi has set a target of $240 for MSTR, while B. Riley sits at $195.
What this means for investors
With Barclays at $175, B. Riley at $195 and Citi at $240, analysts broadly agree on direction but disagree meaningfully on magnitude.
Revenue growth like the 7% posted in Q2 supports the operating-business argument, but net results will keep reflecting what Bitcoin does in the meantime.