While you may not hear about it constantly anymore, the marketplace for non-fungible tokens continue to grow. A research piece out this week from JPMorgan analysts sizes the global NFT market as worth more than $41 billion. That follows similar numbers from Bloomberg last month.
The party around NFTs exploded onto the scene last year, hitting recording-breaking, multimillion-dollar sales figures and drawing in A-list celebrities and artists.
But the big picture is likely going to be far bigger still as the technology underlying this market merges into Web3 and the Metaverse. According to JPMorgan, which just opened a location in Decentraland, NFTs will allow the metaverse to function as a full-fledged discreet economy with the potential to rival large countries.
NFT stocks have been pulling back over recent months. Many names in the space may be significantly underpriced relative to long-term growth potential at this point.
With that in mind, we take a closer look at some of the most interesting stocks in the NFT space below.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services and technology solutions. It operates through its Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology segments.
The Exchanges segment includes trading and listing revenue from the global futures network, the New York Stock Exchange and other registered securities exchanges. The Fixed Income and Data Services segment is composed of fixed income data and analytics offerings, fixed income execution, credit default swap clearing and other multi-asset class data and network services. The Mortgage Technology segment provides an end-to-end network aimed at identifying and solving the inefficiencies that exist in the U.S. residential mortgage market.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) should now be on the radar as an NFT play after its NYSE holding filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to provide an online marketplace for various digital goods including non-fungible tokens (NFT), cryptocurrencies, digital media and artwork.
As noted by CoinDesk, if the exchange follows up with these plans, it would be competing with the likes of OpenSea and Rarible. In April, the NYSE minted its first set of NFTs with homages to six hot tech stocks that debuted on the world’s largest bourse, including Spotify, Roblox and Coupang. At the time, the exchange said it wasn’t selling the NFTs, only minting them, apparently for commemorative purposes. With this latest trademark filing, it’s become clear the NYSE may have much more ambitious plans for NFTs.
The stock has suffered a bit of late, with shares of ICE taking a hit in recent action, down about -3% over the past week.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) managed to rope in revenues totaling $2.3B in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 9%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels exceeding current liabilities ($1.6B against $0).
CYIOS Corp. (OTC US:CYIO) is a very interesting under-the-radar player in the space. Think of it as a multi-faceted alt-finance ecosystem, with subsidiary businesses focused on crypto-lending, crypto-trading, and NFT’s.
The company has been advancing all of these agendas over the past year and could be ideally positioned for the next wave of enthusiasm around crypto-based financial solutions, products, and services. In its Q4 2021 update, CYIO noted that it had completed final beta stage testing of the Helio Cyrpto Exchange and was working toward the upcoming launch of the Randombly NFT marketplace, which was a recent acquisition. The company also teased some big things on the way, including NFT solutions for the physical real estate market and an upcoming major NFT drop in the superhero space.
CYIOS Corp. (OTC US:CYIO) just made good on that last point, announcing yesterday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Immortals Group Pty, has signed an exclusive development and distribution agreement with Stan Lee Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong to produce and market Superhero NFT collectables.
According to the company’s release, the partnership is commencing with a never before released Superhero character franchise created in 2000 by legendary Marvel comic creator Stan Lee and Marvel animation legend Will Meugniot.
The global promotion of this historic Superhero NFT collection will conclude with an NFT drop scheduled for April. The website for the NFT collection is expected to go live this month and will provide in depth detail of the collection, its history, and the comic book legends involved with the project.
CYIOS Corp. (OTC US:CYIO) Chairman, John O’Shea, commented, “We are thrilled to be working alongside some of the most noteworthy, iconic names in the world of superhero entertainment under an exclusive agreement with Stan Lee Holdings. This includes our working directly with Mr. Shirrel Rhoades, Director of Stan Lee Holdings Ltd. and owner of a historic library of never-before-released Stan Lee creations – superheroes, super villains, webisodes, and other digital entertainment produced for the dawn of the Internet Age (1999 – 2001). These rare Intellectual Properties are being curated by Mr. Rhoades for NFTs, NFT gaming, the Metaverse and other global entertainment platforms. Mr. Rhoades has a long history and track record of success in the publishing world as writer, publisher, author, filmmaker, syndicated film critic, comics scholar, comics historian, former college professor and former museum president. He is perhaps most well-known as the former Executive Vice President of Marvel Entertainment and the executive that Stan Lee personally handpicked to succeed him as Publisher of Marvel.”
Cinedigm Corp. (Nasdaq:CIDM) is an independent streaming entertainment company that engages in the marketing and distribution of movie, television, and other short form content managing a library of distribution rights. It has also become a central NFT play given its widespread entertainment content rights holdings.
It operates through the segments; Cinema Equipment Business, and Content and Entertainment Business (CEG). The Cinema Equipment Business segment consists of the non-recourse, financing vehicles, and administrators. The Content and Entertainment Business refers to ancillary market aggregation and distribution of entertainment content and, branded and over-the-top (OTT) digital network business providing entertainment channels and applications.
Cinedigm Corp. (Nasdaq:CIDM) recently announced, along with Exeest, a global film and television marketplace company, the launch of Matchpoint Debut, a new distribution and sales platform for independent filmmakers and content creators. Debut™ provides filmmakers with a path to easily distribute their films across the entire streaming ecosystem while providing an opportunity to monetize their work. All filmmakers, from small independents to established distributors, will have the ability to directly participate in the booming OTT business by gaining distribution across more than 80 US and international-based streaming platforms that are increasingly becoming relegated to Hollywood’s major studios and media conglomerates.
“As the entertainment industry undergoes a transformation brought on by the adoption of streaming video as the primary format for home entertainment, we are passionate about ensuring that the voice of independent filmmakers remains strong,” said Tony Huidor, Cinedigm’s Chief Technology & Product Officer. “As it becomes increasingly difficult for independent filmmakers to reach large audiences in this rapidly changing media landscape, it is exciting to partner with an innovative partner like Exeest who shares our vision of the future where we can create a destination for independent filmmakers and establish a viable path for discovery by enabling them to bring their work into living rooms around the world.”
And the stock has been acting well over recent days, up something like 20% in that time.
Cinedigm Corp. (Nasdaq:CIDM) has a significant war chest ($12.6M) of cash on the books, which stands against about $53.7M in total current liabilities. CIDM is pulling in trailing 12-month revenues of $43.3M. In addition, the company is seeing major top-line growth, with y/y quarterly revenues growing at 40.7%.
Other core names in the NFT space include PLBY Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PLBY), DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq:DKNG), Integrated Media Technology Ltd. (Nasdaq:IMTE), Oriental Culture Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:OCG), Takung Art Co. Ltd. (NYSE American:TKAT), and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY).
