Still down sharply from its April 2025 highs, Strategy has been gaining lost ground since Monday, when the company unveiled a new financial framework including share repurchases and Bitcoin sales.

Shares of the software company-turned crypto whale popped nearly 13% on Monday after Strategy announced its shift from "one-way capital issuance to active capital management," signaling an evolution beyond its core identity as a Bitcoin treasury company.

Strategy's common shares have largely been able to sustain those gains this week, and were rising another 6.1% to $98.99 in Thursday's premarket session. Citi Research doubled down on its Buy recommendation despite slashing its price target to $136 from $260.

The new target reflects Strategy's capital plan update as well as the firm's revised 12-month Bitcoin forecast, analyst Peter Christiansen explained. Christiansen earlier this week characterized the company's new plan as a way to buy more time for the price of Bitcoin to stabilize.

Under the new framework, Strategy aims to bolster its cash reserves for dividend payments while using Bitcoin sales to fund stock buybacks. As Christiansen sees it, reaching $136 depends heavily on a higher Bitcoin price over the next year and an expanding market-to-net asset value -- the premium Strategy commands over its crypto holdings.

However, the analyst noted that the milestone is contingent on the company's various preferred stock offerings restoring to near-par levels following an expected $1 billion in repurchase activity.

Lately, investor attention has centered on Strategy's Stretch preferred stock, and for good reason -- for around a year, Stretch has served as the company's primary vehicle for funding its Bitcoin purchases.

The stock, which trades under the ticker symbol STRC, plunged to a record low last week, drifting further below its $100 par value. While trading at or above par allows Strategy to easily raise capital for Bitcoin purchases by issuing new shares, that funding engine stalls as the price of the stock slides.

Strategy's new financial framework comes at a crucial time. The company must convince investors it can service dividend payments on its preferred shares, even as its legacy software business generates little revenue and Bitcoin dominates its balance sheet.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 02, 2026 08:07 ET (12:07 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.