Bakkt cut to Sell/High Risk at Citi on 'deteriorating' prospects

Citi cut its rating on Bakkt ( NYSE: BKKT ) to Sell/High Risk as it believes the company's prospects are deteriorating. "The company's prospects appear to be deteriorating, mostly a result of external market factors, but also on product-fit challenges and lukewarm partnerships that continue to remain idle," analyst Peter Christiansen said in a note. "The stock also sits in a proverbial information/disclosure vacuum until the company closes on its acquisition of Apex Crypto ," he added. Christiansen raised concerns over Apex's new client pipeline conversion and its level of recurring revenue. "Except for a novel platform vision, we find it too challenging to justify investment merits for the stock currently, until evidence of improving market conditions, ample liquidity, and scaling milestones become tangible," he concluded. Citi's stance is in line with SA Quant's Sell rating on the stock. Shares of Bakkt ( BKKT ) -3.7% in afternoon trade. At the time of its Q4 earnings report, Bakkt ( BKKT ) issued 2023 revenue guidance below expectations .