Bakkt Holdings Inc. saw its shares climb sharply in pre-market trading Tuesday following a regulatory filing revealing that director Michael Alfred's investment vehicle purchased approximately $4.85 million worth of company stock. The stock rose 14.2% to $9.96 before the regular session, building on Monday's 5.3% gain that closed the shares at $8.72.
The insider buying comes at a critical juncture for the crypto-focused firm, which is undergoing a strategic pivot toward stablecoin payments. Despite the recent uptick, Bakkt's stock remains well below its 52-week high of $49.79, trading near the lower end of its range between $6.87 and that peak.
According to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Alfred acquired 365,000 shares on May 15 at a weighted average price of $8.34, followed by an additional 220,000 shares on May 18 at $8.20. The purchases were executed through Alpine Fox LP, bringing Alfred's total holdings in that vehicle to 625,000 shares.
Separately, CEO Akshay Naheta exercised options for 33,557 shares at $10 each on May 15, as detailed in another SEC filing. Following the exercise, Naheta's direct Class A common share count rose to 9,093,522. Notably, this transaction was an option exercise rather than an open-market purchase.
The insider activity follows Bakkt's first-quarter earnings report, which revealed revenue of $243.6 million, a sharp decline from $1.07 billion in the same period last year. The company reported a net loss attributable to Bakkt of $11.7 million, compared to net income of $7.7 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, and other items, showed a loss of $13.7 million.
Naheta characterized the quarter as the 'beginning of a new chapter,' stating that 'the platform is built.' The company is leaning heavily on its Bakkt Markets, Bakkt Agent, and Bakkt Global divisions to drive growth. As of March 31, Bakkt reported $82.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, with no long-term debt on its balance sheet.
The strategic reset follows Bakkt's April 30 acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), a firm specializing in stablecoin and agentic payments infrastructure. Bakkt issued 11.3 million Class A shares to close the all-stock deal, with up to 725,592 additional shares potentially issuable if linked warrants are exercised. Naheta emphasized that the way money moves is changing, underscoring the company's focus on modernizing payment rails.
Wall Street remains divided on Bakkt's prospects, balancing optimism about its strategic shift against concerns over recent financial performance. Benchmark lowered its price target on the stock to $19 from $22 but maintained a Buy rating, citing the company's ongoing pivot in digital assets, as reported by Investing.com.
Competition in the digital payments space remains intense. Coinbase and PayPal are both actively pursuing stablecoin initiatives, with PayPal touting its PYUSD stablecoin for merchant payments and cross-border transactions. Both companies boast significantly larger user bases than Bakkt, which continues to focus on providing regulated crypto and payments infrastructure to institutional clients.
Bakkt has identified supply and execution as key risks, noting in its filings that a recently filed S-3 registration statement allows selling stockholders to resell up to 21.0 million Class A shares. The company stated that it receives no proceeds from these resales and warned that substantial sales, or even rumors of them, could negatively impact the stock price. Tuesday's insider buying may provide some reassurance to investors, but the market will be watching closely for signs that Bakkt can translate its stablecoin strategy into sustainable revenue growth.
